As an atheist, I enjoy the Christmas season as a time of showing appreciation for friends and family. Believe it or not, I also enjoy most of the seasonal decorations and holiday cheer, although I weary of the Fox News “War on Christmas” mentality. The excessive materialism is a bit of a killjoy for me, too. But on the whole, I appreciate the good intentions of celebrants, whether Christian or not, and I enjoy the opportunities to connect with others that Christmas affords.
Therefore I ask you to share a Christmas experience that brought you closer to a stranger or acquaintance, even if for just a short time.
My experience took place at my daughter’s piano recital. It started with children playing as the audience listened. As things loosened up, others jumped in to play a Christmas carol or two, however imperfectly. Before long, we were encouraging one another to play what one could while children and adults sang along. It was a lovely experience that didn’t cost a penny.
Now you!
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
WOW! As a fellow atheist, I am impressed by your candor and feeling of goodwill (towards “celebrant” non-atheists!…yes!)…I couldn’t have put it better.
We celebrate “Christmas”, but for us (esp. our kid!) it’s a chance to be closer, party, feast on foods we usually don’t….and of course…get presents…as well as decorate the house. You know, of course, that MOST of the Xmas traditions stem from Pagan ones (lights, trees, gifts…even the time of year, since nobody really knows when Jesus was actually born!).
This year, we’ve trimmed things down a LOT, due to finances and our kids’ need for expensive musical equipment. We had a great Thanksgiving dinner, so I figure we’ll do the same on Xmas…that is, SOLSTICE (or near it) day)…btw…Happy Solstice!).
Hmmm…my experience of being brought closer to a stranger? My favorite happened at my friends’ house. Her sister, bro-in-law and brother were strict Buddhists, but she was having an Xmas dinner anyway. The Buddhists (I study that too, so I was surprised at their snootiness….it was just THEM)…were put out by many things. So I gathered my friend, her daughter, son and some of their friends and we started singing songs.
First, they were Christmas (and of course, Adam Sandler’s Chanukah Song!), but then we drifted off into nonsense, like Geddy Lee’s “Take Off, To the Great White North” (from SCTV’s Bob & Dog Mackenzie)….and other non X-mas songs!
That was pretty individual…to us, I mean, so I’d say, think about giving (we bring Tots for Toys every year) and give stuff to Salvation Army. It would be cool to do what the March Sisters did in “Little Women” and donate most of your Christmas dinner to a needy family!
There’s so many ways to celebrate the Solstice and even acknowledge Christians part in it…have fun with other ideas.
As for recipes…try foodnetwork.com, for some excellent, traditional dishes!
Hmmm…I can thinks of a few things: All of which are cheap.
1) Volunteer in a soup kitchen or shelter. Many host a holiday dinner for the homeless and always need extra hands!
2) Bulid a snowman!!! One year me and my friends build little mini snowmen and left them in strangers yards and by their cars, even near store fronts. (Just build them on public property or at home and place them in the yards or steps…don’t make them in the neighbours/strangers yard). We used sticks and pebbles and baby carrots (one bag of mini carrots last a while). It’s fun to see people’s faces as they notice them!
3) If your kids get “allowence” or you can give them a small amout (say $5), challenge them to spend it on others…make a game out of it. They have to see how many toys or food items they can buy for another child…donate to an organization. Get their friends involved and ask each child to bring $2 – $5. Make 2 “teams”, and see which team can come up with the most stuff…each team has to spend the same amount. This has become a tradition amongst my friends…instead of having a gift exchange.
Happy Holidays!