Why I Still Celebrate Christmas

I know many atheists who no longer celebrate Christmas because of its religious origins. Some, instead, celebrate Winter Solstice or some other psuedo-pagan nonsense. Me? I celebrate a couple days off of work and an excuse to give and recieve gifts from my loved ones the same way I always have. There's a tree with ornaments and lights. There is garland and wreaths and images of Santa Claus and elves and reindeer. I fight the crowds at the malls and toy stores in order to pack presents under the tree and give that annual boost to the economy. No where present is the tortured effigy of Jesus. No where is there any mention of the bible or Christianity. And there never has been. I can go in and out of malls, stores, businesses, and homes all day long and did I not already know that Christmas was supposed to be about the birth of Christ I would find few reminders. This has never been a religious holiday for me. It has always been about giving and receiving presents. The spirit of giving? Maybe? Rampant consumerism and greed? Definitely. And I, like you, am a consumer. Christmas is the ultimate celebration of consumerism. It is a capitalist holiday.

They celebrate Christmas in the least religious countries in the world because it is fun and a great boost for economies. You see Christmas trees in Tokyo and Hong Kong. That doesn't make them Christians. I have heard Christians even attempt to make the argument, as ridiculous as it is, that celebrating Christmas somehow implies that you still believe deep down as does screaming out "Jesus Christ!" when you're angry or "Oh God!" when you're about to bust a nut. I do both of those by the way. I don't feel I need to change the time honored tradition of using the Christian god's name in vain at moments of ecstasy or exasperation just because the guy is a myth. It's not a prayer. It's an exclamation, an expletive. If I yell out "Holy Shit!" that does not somehow imply a belief in the sanctity of excrement. And sticking a star on top of a Chrsitmas tree does not imply that I believe three wise men followed a star to where a virgin had been raped by a diety and had given birth to that diety's bastard child.

I celebrate Easter too. I buy the baskets and fill them with eggs and candy for my kids. I buy them new Easter clothes and guess what? There's no mention of Christ. There's nothing hardly anywhere to suggest that Easter was about anything but chocolate bunnies and colored eggs. Coloring eggs and biting the ears off of marshmallow peeps does not imply a belief that Christ rose from the grave anymore than it implies a belief that a large intelligent bunny runs all over the world filling baskets with eggs and candy. It too is a consumer holiday, another chance for retailers to sell us things in quantities we would not normally buy. Like beer on St. Patty's Day. I ain't Irish either.

So, I don't feel compelled to renounce all things even remotely tainted by religion. I don't even feel the need to co-opt these holidays and pervert them in some way. Capitalism has already done that. I just reap the benefits and have fun playing Santa.