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I, as I so often do, found myself
in a friendly conversation about Atheism. This time on traditions and
whether or not the Atheist could have traditions similar to those which
religious people hold. The view being proposed to me was that an
Atheist, not having the foundation of religious tradition, was unable to
connect with their family and community on the same level as those who
followed religious traditions. The example given was that without
religion such things as the family get together at Christmas was not
possible for the Atheist and therefore something was lost in the
Atheists life. I approach these ideas in the same manner I try to
approach every such issue. With logic, reason and facts.
Most if not all festivals or holidays that religious people celebrate
are derivative of previous religion's celebrations and sometimes
celebrations independent of religion.
Mid winter festivals are found in many cultures and almost all
agriculturally based cultures have some sort of event at the time when
the stores and spirits are about to run low. These celebrations bring
the community together at a time when moral has the potential to be low
and allows a brief moment of joy. Particularly when the weather has
changed in the winter months forcing people to stay indoors more often
and ration food a bit more. The effect of the winter celebration is to
boost moral, allow for a feast in times when food is potentially running
low and generally giving people something to look forward to in the
weeks or months prior to the holiday.
Is this the exclusive province of religion? Of course not. Our own
Thanksgiving celebrations are not based on religion and Christmas, at
least here in the US, is more and more becoming a holiday for all not
just Christians. In my Jewish family upbringing we celebrated Christmas
complete with a tree and presents and this was and is becoming more and
more common. The fact is that a winter holiday regardless of what it is
called is a very good thing for everyone. And why not call it Christmas?
In the United States we call our winter celebration by many names.
Christmas, Chanukah, the holiday season and my least favorite x-mass.
More on that later.
And what of my holiday celebrations? Well I celebrate them all when I
can. Christmas, Passover, Independence day (one of my favorites),
Halloween, Chanukah, Thanksgiving, they are all great reasons (excuses)
to get together with friends and family. Eat too much food. Exchange
gifts. Just plain have a good time. More so they give us pause to
reflect on important social issues that we may not take the time to
reflect on in our hurried day to day lives. This is what so many
holidays are really about.
Christmas is often referred to as "the time of giving". In my mind this
is a very good thing. We, for a short time, enjoy thinking about friends
and family in a way that we may not throughout the rest of the year. We
take the time, or at least should, to think about what each person would
want or need and unselfishly buy that thing for them. Independence day
(AKA the 4th of July) we should reflect on the meaning of American
freedom. I know I do. We should think about those who fought and died to
establish our country and the sacrifices so many have made throughout
our short history as a country in order to protect that freedom.
Thanksgiving we should reflect on our personal prosperity and the
sacrifices made to allow us to come this far.
Halloween although it may not be quite as obvious also serves a purpose
in our social lives. Throughout the year we would hardly think it
appropriate for our neighbors to stop by randomly and request a treat.
Yet on Halloween we encourage our neighbors to come by and send up the
children. We hand over various treats to the children and enjoy the
moment as we laugh at the fun costumes that adorn them. Neighbors we may
not even say "hi" to throughout the year will, for a brief moment, make
a connection through their children, even to those of us without
children.
The point is that some of these holidays are based on religious
traditions others are purely cultural but all serve a larger community
purpose. Even for those of us who do not share the religious beliefs
that spawned the holiday tradition benefit from the true purpose of
these celebrations. I will likely never go to a Christmas Mass at my
local church but I will certainly give gifts to friends and family
somewhere close to the 24th and 25th of December. I can be an Atheist
and enjoy my connection to my social community at the same time.
There is one thought that came to mind throughout this conversation I
was having. The Christian gives gifts at Christmas because it is
strongly expected of them from a religious standpoint. The Atheist has
no such religious obligation and could, if so inclined, decline to
participate in the "holiday spirit" of giving. So in some way the
Atheist participates in these events not out of obligation to do so but
because the tradition of the community overrides the religious basis for
the given celebration. This to me proves that the religious aspects of
the various holidays in not the deciding factor. With or without
Christianity we would very likely still have a mid winter celebration.
It may not be on the 24th of December exactly but it would likely be
very close to that date.
One last final thought to express. I mentioned that the term x-mass, or
any of the other variations in spelling, is my least favorite name for
the mid winter holidays. I think it is an atrocity to change the name of
something for the sake of political correctness. Please don't do this.
Christmas is the name we have given to the celebration on December 24th
and 25th. If you don't want to call it Christmas for political or
ideological reasons then just don't refer to the December 24th event and
instead refer to a general mid winter holiday of no specific date or on
another date. Start your own if you like. Its not about the exact day
its about the social community you belong to and the connection to it
that should be embraced. I for one have no objection to the name
Christmas and will continue to celebrate it on or about the 24th. I say
on or about because in an effort to allow those at work with children or
deep religious beliefs to spend the exact days with their families, I
volunteer to work on the 24th and 25th every year. As I said the exact
day is not important to me only the connection to friends and family. I
can do that on the 26th just as well.
We as Atheists should realize that we are not separate from our
communities even when those who we live in it with see us as outsiders.
Just as I ask that no one pushes their religious beliefs on me I to can
not, in good conscience, push mine (or lack there of) on them. And
whenever I can I attempt to accommodate their beliefs. Maybe through
this action they too may eventually learn to accommodate mine and stop
inflicting their default religious beliefs on me. As the holidays roll
up around the corner please remember that Atheist, Christian, Jewish,
Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist and all the other possibilities live here, more
or less, in peace. Lets try to respect each other and stop stepping on
each others toes.
At least until the snow melts.
Your friendly neighborhood Atheist.
~Kid Kaos
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