I’m an atheist, but I celebrate Christmas. Recently I started wondering why I don’t simply fess up that I’m not a Christian, therefore I ought to stop pretending to celebrate the (purported) birth of Christ.
Of course, I’m not alone; many, many people who never go to church and have little to no Christian faith continue to celebrate Christmas. So, why is it completely okay for this to continue? Should we not feel hypocritical? I mean, yes, probably, and sometimes I do.
Whether you celebrate one of the mid-winter holidays or not, and many religions seems to have one, we all need a break at this time of year. These mid-winter holidays must stem from the celebration of the return of the sun , so logically, as an atheist, I should switch to celebrating the winter solstice, because that is something I can get behind. I firmly believe the days are getting longer now!! Yippee!! And, yet, here I am, getting ready for Christmas once again, having practically ignored the winter solstice! Tradition is a hard habit to break. In the house where I grew up, Christmas had nothing to do with Christ or religion, so I can’t fault myself for having adopted the same practice. I’m still not ruling out switching in the future, though, I just have to figure out the new traditions. Maybe we can just keep doing everything we currently do only back a few days. It’s so crazy it might just work!
For people who have a bah-humbug attitude about Christmas and the commercialism surrounding it, etc, or who are downright against it, I say this: how gloomy would life be if you didn’t do something to lighten up the winter? To break the dark monotony of the coldest and bleakest season of the year? That’s why I keep celebrating Christmas (plus, tradition). I love putting up lights outside, decorating the tree, planning special meals and baking cookies, and yes, buying some gifts– the whole nine yards. Normally, I love having lots of family and friends to celebrate it with, too, but even in this godawful year I’m glad to be doing what is possible to mark this moment that’s the end of something and the beginning of something else. It’s especially nice to be saying good-bye to 2020 (please let the door hit you on the way out), and celebrating the hope and possibility that the future will be better.
So, happy holidays everyone, however you celebrate! See you at Easter!
Nothing like brass at this time of year! Enjoy!
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