Christmas
can be a cultural rather than a religious holiday. This does not mean that
there are no religious elements to Christmas. On the contrary, there are many
religious aspects to Christmas. This is what we should expect from a cultural
holiday because religion is an important aspect of culture. In fact,
significant portions of Christmas celebrations today don't originate in
Christianity at all.
No one celebrates every possible
aspect of Christmas. Some hang mistletoe, some don't; some drink eggnog, some
don't; some have a crèche, some don't. Everyone has traditions which are more
meaningful than others, and most create some of their own
"traditions." The result is that everyone picks and chooses certain
aspects of Christmas to celebrate and others to ignore.
If you want to celebrate a secular
Christmas, just ignore the religious options. It’s sometimes easier to get
people to accept an ideology if they are told that it's "tradition"
and the way things used to be rather than the truth. Christmas can
absolutely be celebrated in a nonreligious way.
Charitable Donations and
Volunteering- Except for attending church
services, donating money or time to charities is the one activity which could
be the least secular because so many charities are religious. This doesn't mean
that charity is exclusively religious, though. You can celebrate Christmas in a
charitable manner without giving anything to religious charities - there are
secular charities out there if you look. You can donate your time or money to a
charity of your choice without feeding any religion.
Christmas Parties- There are probably more parties going on during the
Christmas holiday season than at any other time of the year (except maybe Halloween). There is also nothing intrinsically religious about Christmas
parties.
In fact, many parties which occur in
offices and schools are entirely secular because of the religious diversity of
those who attend. If you're looking for an excuse to have a party, this is as
good as any.
Christmas Shopping- The least religious aspect of Christmas is probably the one
which involves the most time, effort, and money: shopping. There's nothing the
least bit Christian about Christmas shopping, so if you're someone who actually
enjoys the sights, sounds, and smells of shopping at Christmastime, you
can do so without wondering if you're just giving in to popular religious
celebration. By participating in the commercialization of Christmas, you're
helping to diminish its religious aspects.
Decorations- People spend a lot of money to decorate their homes for
Christmas. Although there are lots of religious decorations out there, you can
also find plenty of secular decorations. So if you like decorating the house
generally or just occasionally for the sake of change, you have lots of
non-religious choices: Santa, reindeer, evergreens, lights, mistletoe, etc.
Secular decoration options are abundant precisely because there are significant
non-religious aspects to Christmas.
Family Gatherings at Christmas- Large numbers of people have family gatherings during the
Christmas holidays. Since so many people have time off during these holidays,
it's a good excuse to visit and spend time with family. Although many go to
church as a family, there are plenty of things people can do as families that
are completely secular: dinners, gift exchanges, ice skating, or holiday shows.
You could make the Christmas holidays an annual family reunion to strengthen
familial ties.
Food- The Christmas season has developed an entire line of foods
— mostly sweets — that only appear during this time of year. Little, if any of
it, is religious in nature, so celebrating this time of year with special foods
and meals is an inherently secular activity. Food might not seem like much of a
celebration, but getting together with others to make and enjoy food can be
very important socially, emotionally and psychologically.
Gift-Giving- The most popular Christmas activity is exchanging gifts, and
it doesn't have to be abandoned to have a secular Christmas. There's nothing
about Christmas
presents which is inherently religious or
Christian. The only way for the gifts to have any religious meaning is if you
personally invest them with one. The gifts are simply of the sort which you
might give other times during the year.
New Year's Celebrations- The Christmas holiday season isn't just Christmas, but
also New
Year's. People have lots of parties and
family gatherings around this date as well, and it's even more secular
than Christmas. There's nothing at all religious or Christian about it. There
are lots of ways atheists and non-Christians can celebrate it without any
references to traditional Christian activities.
As an atheist, I have no problem when Christians
tell me ‘Merry Christmas.’ It’s a sentiment of good will. People need to get
over themselves.”
(Whisper)[i]
[i] Adapted from: “How to Celebrate Christmas if You're Nonreligious” by
Austin Cline
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