Godless Mom in the Bible Belt

I love this time of year. I've always been an any-excuse-for-a-party kind of gal and the holiday season provides the perfect excuse to decorate my house, shower my friends and family with love, eat and drink until you have to roll me out the door and sing and dance 'til I'm ready to drop.

When I was a child, Christmas was about the birth of Jesus and gifts from Santa Claus (not necessarily in that order.) In my young mind I pictured the entire world sitting in cozy homes around tall trees with loving families, all singing Oh Little Town of Bethlehem. The lights made sense, the nativity scenes made sense, the reindeer made sense...It was a pretty picture.

Now, as an adult, things are a little different. This is a strange time of year to be an out of the closet atheist. When I go out caroling with neighborhood friends I always get weird sideways glances when we sing Silent Night and people seem to make a point of saying "Happy Holidays" to me instead of "Merry Christmas." I can understand their quandary, they are good folks who don't want to offend and I'm a bit of a curiosity. I try to let them know that I like to sing and be festive just like everyone else and they certainly don't need to change their celebration habits or religious observations because I'm around.

After we had Liz we decided that if we were going to raise her in a religion-free home we would need to help her make sense of all the different things she sees and hears during the season. We want to help her recognize the different celebrations that take place and respect and understand the beliefs that surround those holidays. I am very fortunate that Liz has friends of many different religions and cultures so she is exposed first-hand to families that observe Ramadan, families that celebrate Rash Hashanah and Chanukkah, families who take Christmas and run with it and families who don't celebrate at all. She is able to see that although Christmas is the holiday that dominates the stores, there are actually many different things going on during the latter months of the year.

Each year on the Winter Solstice I invite my loved ones over for a simple dinner and some quiet family time. I use the occasion to teach Liz about various holiday celebrations around the world and about the origins of many of our traditions.(I think this year she might be old enough to actually participate in the family discussion.) It has really turned into a beautiful and relaxing family tradition.

I always serve beef stew (slow cooked in the crockpot) a tossed salad, bread and wine. After dinner we sit down with a cup of wassal and enjoy each others company. This is my favorite day of the year!

So, I hope everyone has a lovely Solstice (it officially occurs today at 11:35 EST)I'll be drinking a toast to all of you!