During the holiday season (and yes, it’s a season of several holidays) I sometimes come across friends, believers, that do not understand why I, an atheist, actually celebrate Christmas. It is after all a celebration of their saviors birth and since I don’t believe he even existed, why would I celebrate a day that is meaningless to me?
During the holiday season, atheists are often asked what we are thankful for since we have no belief in any god, why do we even celebrate either Thanksgiving or Christmas? Over the years I have to say for myself that the question has become annoying. It seems that to many there is no reason for an atheist to be thankful for anything. What does a beliief in a god have to do with thankfulness?
When I was a child, I think one of my favorite days, aside from Christmas, was Halloween. It wasn’t the costumes in particular, but the race to garner the most candy that I could. One or both parents would take my sister and I around the neighborhood and people actually decorated their homes. Some, in fact, actually had “haunted houses” you had to go through to get your treats.
Happy 4th of July! Yes, for those of us in America, this is a seminal holiday celebrating our freedoms. I’m not a flag-waver but I have to say that I am very happy I was born and raised in a country that have so many freedoms. As we all know, there are many other countries that are far worse than America.
So, Easter is upon us. I thought I might write something mocking the Christian tradition, but I’m certain we’ll see plenty of those in the next few days. It’s been done, a lot, and I’m sure I’ve written something similar in past years. I’m not saying that the whole “Zombie Jesus” meme is not worthy of derision, it’s just that I think that although this is a holiday for a particular religious belief, atheists have their own celebrations that are worthy of mention.
Conservative Skeptic 