Christmas is about the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. As an atheist, I have several issues with this and am affected in many different ways. I think it’s time to speak out with an atheistic perspective.
Celebration of a birthday
Well actually, even the most ardent Christian researcher will tell you that Jesus wasn’t born on 25 December. So what’s the real story here?
Early Christians had trouble making in-roads against other beliefs. Try as they might, they couldn’t stop people engaging in their traditions. Winter solstice means we throw a party, and Julius Caesar established December 25 as the date to celebrate. Before any alleged birth in 4 BCE (before common era). Similarly Easter is linked to the vernal equinox – when day and night are of the same length, and again a time that was celebrated long before the birth of Christianity.
As the son of a Baptist I was brought up to go to church every Sunday (along with many other belief-based practices). Even once I became my own person and was able to live a free from such dogma, my wife and I continued to attend church at Christmas and Easter to please my mother. We have since given this up, as it was only giving her false hope that we would return to her religion.
Exchange of presents
From the outside looking in, Christmas appears to be mainly focussed on rabid consumerism. So where does this come from? Again, the winter solstice was a time of gift giving. This has spun out of control in modern capitalist societies, where gifts are expected and economies are built around a large spike in sales at the end of December. This can be largely avoided. While one does not wish to spoil childhood, once members of our family turn 18 they no longer get gifts. This avoids people wasting money once a year on items that the recipient generally doesn’t value as much as the items cost (refer to Scroogenomics for a more detailed analysis of the economics of gift giving).
The family occasion/Christmas meal
This is again based on pre-Christian practices. In reality, while the meal is intended to bring families together they don’t necessarily belong together. Most people can attest to the stress of the Christmas meal, where family members and in-laws, many of whom don’t get on, spend several hours arguing.
My wife and I do acquiesce in attending Christmas meals. Yes, we’ll eat with our families if we get on with them (noting that my wife’s brother has been estranged from the rest of her family for several years, and so we don’t see his family). It is always an occasion that’s filled with stress.
Is getting together with family a good thing? It’s always important to remember that you can choose your friends but not your family, and that while they might be family you don’t have to like them. I like my family, and can cope with a meal or two with them each year. But that’s something that I choose to do – you should never feel forced into a relationship with family, especially in those families that have involved abuse.
Christmas at the office
Yes, I’m the “Scrooge”. I “Bah” and “Humbug” my way through the weeks leading up to Christmas. There is an awful amount of pressure to just conform and give in to the occasion, that people really don’t think much about. Do you really think it’s right to push a religious celebration onto me? Even if you’re celebrating it non-religiously, I am not interested in the decorations around the office or the incredibly annoying carols.
Yes, Christmas music is appalling. And the decorations are generally awful!
But you still take the public holiday
Well yes. Just like a German living in Australia will not turn up for work on Australia Day, I am forced by the fact that my office is closed not to attend work. It’s also part of most employment arrangements. Of course, if Christmas were abolished as a public holiday then everyone would work. I’m fine with that.
So what do you really want from Christmas?
Just some basics:
- Get rid of the awful music (and the sloppy sentimentality)
- Don’t pretend it’s a religious celebration when most people who’re celebrating are not Christians
- Accept that some of us don’t want to have Christmas pushed down our throats. If you’re a non-Muslim in an Islamic country you will still want to eat during the day through Ramadan. If you’re a non-Christian in a Western country you don’t want all the gumph that goes with Christmas.
- Accept that Christmas, and Easter, have become post-Christian celebrations of consumerism and badge them as such. That includes renaming them and removing the religious elements. If you want to celebrate your religion I won’t stop you, but I don’t want it forced upon me.
Thanks for reading, I wish you all a very merry winter solstice (summer solstice for those of us in Australia).
Further information:
Wikipedia
Scroogenomics: Why You Shouldn't Buy Presents for the Holidays - Joel Waldfogel
