“You’re an atheist? Oh, you must be lonely and miserable during the holidays.”
“No, not at all. I celebrate too.”
“What? What do you celebrate?”
You know how it goes. People who have never gotten far enough outside Christianity to look back in and realize that Santa Claus isn’t Jesus and eggnog wouldn’t have kept well in Israel just can’t wrap their heads around the idea of secular holidays. They can’t quite figure out how we manage to make festive without the bible, even though theirs doesn’t make an appearance when everyone is sitting around the Christmas tree.
So we’re going to help them out. On Sunday, December 23, at 9 a.m. Central time, we’re going to do a special holiday edition of Atheists Talk. It’s going to be all about what we do, as atheists, as everyone else is celebrating Christmas or Ramadan or Yule or making a big deal out of Hannukah for the sake of the children or going out for Chinese food and a movie.
What do you do over these dark days? Do you keep the old traditions minus the churchy bits? Do you still go to church for some reason? Does Santa visit? Do you do a big family meal? Do the people you spend the holidays with know you’re atheist? Do you decorate? If you do, what kinds of symbols do you include? What new traditions have you carved for yourself? What movies define this time of year for you? How do you really feel about Christmas music? What’s the most unholy holiday you’ve ever had?
Listen to AM 950 KTNF this Sunday at 9 a.m. Central to hear Atheists Talk, produced by Minnesota Atheists. Stream live online. Call in to the studio at 952-946-6205, or send an e-mail to [email protected] during the live show. If you miss the live show, listen to the podcast later.
We have a traditional Christmas minus the churchy bits.
When I still lived in Vancouver I used to go to a big church service on the 24th just for the pomp/ritual/and moist of all for the music – I’ve been a non-believer for 50+ years but appreciate the inherent beauty of the music and pageantry that takes place.
It’s not quite a tradition, but on Christmas Eve my wife and I like to watch The Princess Bride. (Again? As you wish… 😉
Otherwise, we enjoy putting up a tree with all the trimmings, lights, stockings and, of course, presents! I’m an atheist while my wife isn’t (thankfully she’s not dogmatic), and I’ve gone to church a few times at Christmas. I do know all the classic carols and enjoy singing them at church or at parties too.
The most unholy X-mas I ever had was in Eau Claire, WI when on Christmas Day I thought it would be nice to have Chinese, only to find every Chinese place in town was closed, even the take-out by the university. Augh!
December 25 is just another day. We’ll be doing whatever needs doing, like draining/scrubbing the hot tub and pressure washing the driveway. No special meal and no celebrations. What’s to celebrate?
Once the chores are done, the kids will be doing something with their Solstice presents, and me and hub will spend a couple hours doing what we most like to do, which often starts with him announcing that it’s time to shave or me reminding him that shaving is our only unbreakable rule. He’s a nuzzler, you see, with bristles that can do painful and noticeable damage.
December 21 is our big day. Pizza, beer, presents, … the whole shebang … although we tend to skip pompous speeches. We celebrate the advent of the annual move towards beach season.
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