Heathen Holidays

[deity]

Many of us have been fighting the "Jesus is the reason for the season" mentality for some time. This year, I got about 30 cards from people who sent "heathen's greetings", which amused me to no end.

For what it's worth - I'm an atheist with a giftmas tree. I call it a giftmas tree because it hasn't and never was a "religious" holiday. This is the one day a year that I make up for all the forgotten birthdays, thank people who were good to me, and give presents to friends and strangers who left marked impact on my life. I also cook up a big dinner, for the in-law, and invite family friends to help him eat it. I have a plastic pine tree stuffed with knick-knacks, hanging in our dining room, waiting for the cats to use it as a scratching post- that's a great post, for them.

I've never really seen any religious significance in a holiday that we, as a culture, never really celebrated until the mid to late 19th century. The whole Santa Claus thing is a promotional campaign, much like mother's day and father's day were invented to increase gift card sales. I can't always separate commercialism from any religion since most religious leaders seem to thrive on funds they gain from their consumers. But, I don't meditate on their gain- I am too busy thinking of how I can make a friend smile. It bugs me when people assume because I have decorations at my house that I must be involved in some sort of ritual of a religious nature. These people are the ones who don't understand Atheism.

I don't do anything related to any religion. I intentionally celebrate things humanity-based. I intentionally celebrate the human condition, and cultural to my country. I watch baseball. I like football. I even eat Hershey bars to the dismay of my friend from the UK who worked at Cadbury as a taster. If I have a funeral to go to, it's generally not attended by anyone who has any delusions about 'after life'. If I go to a wedding, it isn't about "under god" or any thing like that. It's just culturally accepted, and it helps bring together people who have like-minded needs. Weddings celebrate unions, funerals close chapters of life, and football games are great places to observe strange men in war paint half naked cheering guys with rather large sinewy muscles. Love it all.

We had a few kids over at giftmas. One of the families enjoyed having presents for the kid. The other seemed focus on "there is no santa claus", which is their prerogative. We enjoy giving kids presents all year round, so it didn't make any difference to us. I also keep the giftmas cards I got from friends- they sometimes are the only communication I get from people I care about all year. That is special to me to be remembered. None of it has any religious babble tied to it. If someone enjoys giving them to us, then I enjoy receiving them.

I think people who get insulted at our enjoyment of the holiday don't understand that we act like this ALL year round, except for the goofy plastic tree that would just be a pain to clean up after month on end. We treat people with kindness, enjoy giving presents, and offer meals all year round. The one time of year that everyone else seems to do the same- we just magnify it a bit, to match the rest of the culture. I have friends who aren't Atheist- although they don't act like it. They seem to enjoy the no-religion in our house. Maybe it's a break from rules they don't believe in?

deity