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Do you Reject the Holidays as an Atheist?

My notions of what happens at this time of the year stem from my childhood indoctrination.

Starting (for me) when I was 10 months old, my family put up a tree, wrapped presents, and made a big meal. There were special cookies made only at this time, special candies bought and eaten only at this time, special songs sung only at this time, and special stories told only at this time. I got toys. I got candy. I got a big dinner with pie afterwards.

I liked it. A lot.

We did this every year. When I grew up and had my own children, we continued to do it every year.

A few years before I renounced religion and magical thinking, I grew too impoverished to have this special celebration and had to give it up. The religious part didn't really matter to me at that time, even though I still thought of myself as religious. But this celebration cost money, and I had none. I still have none. I really miss having this celebration, regardless of the reasons for it. My reason for it has always been, basically, that we've always done this every year and it's lots of fun! I enjoy it! I miss it. A lot.

No, I don't reject the holidays because I'm atheist. I don't reject them at all.

I simply can't play anymore and it makes me really sad.

I miss Christmas. :(
 
I would hug you, Slingblade, but it's a long way from me to you and my arms are not stretchy. ;) I hope you have a very happy Christmas, even if it's not the one you would choose to have just now.

There has never been much intrusion of religion into my Christmas celebrations. There will be a tree with baubles and lights, food, drink, family, presents, and a few days off work. It'll be great fun! My children have threatened to put fairy lights on my wheelchair, which should be entertaining.
 
gambling_cruiser said:
I'll spend dec 24 to 29 in Las Vegas, so i can have decorations (I can't compete with Bellagio's observatory decoration), a xmas tree (in front of Caesars palace), xmas lunch or dinner (depends when i can sleep) at Wynn's and my wife and I can avoid all our relatives, who would destroy like a grinch all our fun. I promised this to my wife on our return trip from my family on dec 25, 2008. And a promise is a promise.
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Nice. A friend tried to talk me into doing Christmas in Vegas this year, but it wouldn't fly with the family on short notice. I like the idea, though - there's a good chance I'll try to shift my 'family visit' schedule to some less busy time of year in the future.
 
Halloween is fun... even if you don't believe in vampires and hobgoblins.

And Christmas is fun... even if you don't believe in ghosts and zombies.
 
Rasmus said:
I may not have been clear enough.

I enjoy Christmas myself. I am looking forward to going home and meet my parents, in fact.

I think truethat is being grouchy, though - teaching his kids lessons instead of celebrating seems like a grouchy thing to do to me. And that is what I think is allowing the church to dictate his life.

He could teach the same lessons all year long, but he decided to do it instead of christmas.

I see nothing wring with celebrating it, and nothing wrong with not celebrating it, either. But if you don't celebrate and make a huge issue out of it, you might as well admit that it's just as much about christmas as the celebratuions would be. (And if you are all about christmas, personally I think you could pick the option thats more fun.)

Merry christmas!
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Walking in others footsteps is sometimes polite, before commenting. truethat has done social work and has seen the dark side of need.:)
 
xmas not at home

aerosolben said:
Nice. A friend tried to talk me into doing Christmas in Vegas this year, but it wouldn't fly with the family on short notice. I like the idea, though - there's a good chance I'll try to shift my 'family visit' schedule to some less busy time of year in the future.
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We have done xmas away from Austria in the past:
2000, 2001, 2005, 2006 Las Vegas
1992 Lanzarote
1995 Gran Canaria
1996 & 2002 Madeira
2003 Carnival Pride, Mexican Riviera Cruise
2004 Sapphire Princess, Australia - Newzealand Cruise
 
Darth Rotor said:
My next door neighbor does not celebrate Christmas.

He does that JW thing.
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What is that JW thing? I have various relatives who are J'dubs but I'm not aware of any co-ordinated activity around xmas time. The local ones in my town generally have a treasure hunt on xmas morning because the roads are clear of traffic, but I don't think that's a global phenomenon! :)
 
This year, I am fulfilling a long-cherished wish and working on both Christmas Eve and Christmas. I will be working 12 hours each day with Alzheimer's patients, many of which won't even know what a holiday season is! (For that matter, a lot of them don't remember who Jesus is. Or Santa, Rudolph, Frosty the Snowman, et al.) Everyone is sympathizing with me to the Nth degree (Oh, you poor thing! Bless your heart! Working on Christmas!) Meanwhile, I am rejoicing inwardly and planning to either do the same thing next year or possibly sneak off to Death Valley.
 
This is one where I would vote without posting, but since there's no poll, I guess I'll vote by posting. I celebrate the holidays as an atheist, yes. It's part of my culture, for sure.
 
When I was much younger I protested Christmas by telling everyone I wasn't going to buy any gifts. Many of my friends and relatives still bought me gifts. The following year there were less giving me gifts and the next year just my parents. So I decided it was pointless to protest is such a manner and the following year I created gifts out of seashells. I cut them open and glued them together making little artworks from them and drew Christmas cards making individual hand crafted Christmas cards for everyone. The following year I actually got some gifts from friends and family who had not been giving me gifts. After a while my brothers had children who grew to that age where they loved to open gifts. I broke down and bought them gifts and eventually started buying gifts again. This had nothing to do with my atheism. It was a protest of the commercialism and obligatory giving that prevailed. So no I don't reject the holidays as an atheist.
 
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Here's the thing. There is no reason to 'reject' the holidays as an atheist. They are perfectly aligned with existing reasons to celebrate - the same ones that predate the current ones or coexist with other seemingly coincidental ones. I celebrate the solstices and the equinoxes which happen to fall neatly in the time spans of Christmas, Halloween/Dia de los Muertos, Easter, St. Patrick's Day, Yom Kippur, Rosh ha-shanah. Works out perfectly. :)

Celebrations on these astronomical, cyclical events goes back millenia. Celebrations of life and death go back millenia. Celebrations of harvest and planting go back millenia. At least these are celebrations connected with actual observations and recognitions of reality.

For me, on Christmas, no tree, no lights, no angels, no nativity. None of the trappings that christians trapped from so-called 'pagan' religions or invented on their own. The celebration is of the annual 'rebirth' of the sun as the tilt of the Earth in its orbit causes daylight to increase by six hours towards the summer solstice and the arrival of spring and summer. And, yes, I'd rather say 'Happy Winter Solstice' than the other thing. You can muffle it with 'Happy Yule Tidings' or some such if you like. There is something of an oxymoron with 'Merry' and 'Christ's Mass'. ;)
 
fuelair said:
Walking in others footsteps is sometimes polite, before commenting. truethat has done social work and has seen the dark side of need.:)
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I didn't mean to suggest that helping the needy was a bad thing, or teaching that to children should be discouraged. But where is the point in doing it instead of celebrating christmas?

are any of the poor and needy better of if you cancel your christmas celebration?

So what kind of lesson does that teach the children?

help the needy because they need being helped: good!

help the needy because you are an atheist on christmas: messed up, hypocritical and selfish.

(and because ihaven't disloged my foot from my mouth yet, i am not speculating what TrueThat's motives are - i just wonder about them!)
 
Cactus Wren said:
(Still mentally grousing over the time my mother tried to persuade me and my brother -- ages thirteen and ten -- that attending an outdoor performance of The Taming of the Shrew would be lots, lots more fun a way to spend Independence Day than going to see some dumb boring old fireworks!)
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Then you should have gone to an outdoor performance of The Taming of the Shrew which had fireworks in it.
 
godofpie said:
Does no one celebrate Festivus anymore? You can't start your new year off right if you haven't aired your grievances.
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A festivus for the rest of us!

Hemant Mehta wrote an interesting blog post on this topic which can be seen at: friendlyatheist.com/2009/11/24/a-watered-down-christianity-in-sweden/

Tim Minchin has a wonderful song about Christmas from an atheist's viewpoint: youtube.com/watch?v=-0s68-GLGWY

(sorry, I still can't post URLs)
 
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