Recently I was drawn into a discussion of why atheists such as myself and other non-Christians celebrate Christmas. Apart from the obvious questions (such as why do Christians celebrate it on December 25 which is actually the birthday of Mithras and not Jesus, who was likely born in September, if he was born at all) my justification is that as an Atheist, I can celebrate anything I darn well please. It's not like I'm afraid of going to hell for it. I love Christmas, and unlike some atheists, I go all out with the Christian mythology. I have a nativity set, I sing "Away in a Manger", I greet people on Christmas morning with a joyful "Christ is born!" What have I got to lose? After all, I've been known to cry "Expecto Patronum" in dark underpasses too. Does this have to mean I really believe in magic? I object to the silly terms bandied about today in the name of political correctness: "Festivus for the rest of us", or one I confess I sometimes use (and rather like, if truth be told): "Decemberific". I also find the multicultural retrofitting of Kwanzaa, Hanukkah and Diwali as alternatives to Christmas to be a little sad. Christmas is Christmas people. Let those other holidays be what they are too. And if I wish you a Merry Christmas and you're not a Christian, don't feel bad; neither am I. I no more want to take the "Christ" out of Christmas than I want to take it out of Christopher Hitchens. Why does everything have to be so literal? I grew up celebrating Christmas and I like it. Enough said. For this and so many other things, I don't care what Christians think. So, that was a rather long winded introduction to my latest creation. Having been appalled and disgusted by the quality of the chocolate in last year's store bought Advent Calendar, I decided to make my own - one that can be reused year after year. I plan on tucking nice candies and little toys into each pocket so Lucy can pull one out each day leading up to Christmas. It was a great way to make use of some of my Christmas fabrics (which I have used to make reusable bags for wrapping presents instead of paper). Now I need to get cracking on some handmade Christmas presents!
Saturday, November 21, 2009
"Advent" just means something's coming
Recently I was drawn into a discussion of why atheists such as myself and other non-Christians celebrate Christmas. Apart from the obvious questions (such as why do Christians celebrate it on December 25 which is actually the birthday of Mithras and not Jesus, who was likely born in September, if he was born at all) my justification is that as an Atheist, I can celebrate anything I darn well please. It's not like I'm afraid of going to hell for it. I love Christmas, and unlike some atheists, I go all out with the Christian mythology. I have a nativity set, I sing "Away in a Manger", I greet people on Christmas morning with a joyful "Christ is born!" What have I got to lose? After all, I've been known to cry "Expecto Patronum" in dark underpasses too. Does this have to mean I really believe in magic? I object to the silly terms bandied about today in the name of political correctness: "Festivus for the rest of us", or one I confess I sometimes use (and rather like, if truth be told): "Decemberific". I also find the multicultural retrofitting of Kwanzaa, Hanukkah and Diwali as alternatives to Christmas to be a little sad. Christmas is Christmas people. Let those other holidays be what they are too. And if I wish you a Merry Christmas and you're not a Christian, don't feel bad; neither am I. I no more want to take the "Christ" out of Christmas than I want to take it out of Christopher Hitchens. Why does everything have to be so literal? I grew up celebrating Christmas and I like it. Enough said. For this and so many other things, I don't care what Christians think. So, that was a rather long winded introduction to my latest creation. Having been appalled and disgusted by the quality of the chocolate in last year's store bought Advent Calendar, I decided to make my own - one that can be reused year after year. I plan on tucking nice candies and little toys into each pocket so Lucy can pull one out each day leading up to Christmas. It was a great way to make use of some of my Christmas fabrics (which I have used to make reusable bags for wrapping presents instead of paper). Now I need to get cracking on some handmade Christmas presents!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment