Why do I celebrate Christmas
It's a question that comes up reasonably often. Why would an atheist celebrate Christmas when they don't believe in it? And, wouldn't it just be about the presents and the food and isn't that kind of hollow?
The thing is, though, I love Christmas and I like the religious bits at least as much as I like reindeer and parcels and puddings. A big part of it is that I believe that a story can have meaning and resonance without being literally true and the Christmas story really is a cracker. There's animals and kings and angels and an itty bitty baby who is going to go on to great things - what's not to like. It's a story that makes me reflect on being a family and about how we get chances to start over and how the humblest person just might change the world and the weight of potential that all babies bring with them. Those ideas have a Truth that stands outside of one story.
The other thing I love about Christmas is the all the tradition that goes with it and the way that Christmas always holds the ghosts of Christmases past and present. The way Christmas happens for my boys isn't very different from the way it was when I was a girl and my childhood Christmases were built on the ones my Mother remembered and on back through time. When life is difficult and unpredictable it's reassuring to have something that is fixed and that reminds us that there have been good times before and there will be good times again.
The thing is, though, I love Christmas and I like the religious bits at least as much as I like reindeer and parcels and puddings. A big part of it is that I believe that a story can have meaning and resonance without being literally true and the Christmas story really is a cracker. There's animals and kings and angels and an itty bitty baby who is going to go on to great things - what's not to like. It's a story that makes me reflect on being a family and about how we get chances to start over and how the humblest person just might change the world and the weight of potential that all babies bring with them. Those ideas have a Truth that stands outside of one story.
The other thing I love about Christmas is the all the tradition that goes with it and the way that Christmas always holds the ghosts of Christmases past and present. The way Christmas happens for my boys isn't very different from the way it was when I was a girl and my childhood Christmases were built on the ones my Mother remembered and on back through time. When life is difficult and unpredictable it's reassuring to have something that is fixed and that reminds us that there have been good times before and there will be good times again.