Godless Mom in the Bible Belt

Tuesday, December 20, 2005

The rising of the sun and the running of the deer.

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!
posted by GodlessMom, 2:42 PM

4 Comments:

Blogger Saur♥Kraut said:

It's always nice to have traditions. Of course you have beliefs even if you don't have religious ones.

In our case, we discuss the different beliefs and have taken place in different celebrations. It's nice that not all of them exclude each other, so you can celebrate a Christian Christmas, Jewish Channukah, and Kwanzaa together if you like.

What will we be doing? Probably much of nothing, except eating ham and drinking eggnog. ;o)
Posted at 8:14 AM  

Blogger TLP said:

I'm a Unitarian and we actually have a Winter Solstice service at church. It's just for fun. It ends with dancing around a bonfire. (I say it's for fun, but you know, every year after we "call back the light," the next day is actually a minute longer than the day before. We may be responsible for the lengthening days!)

We do Christmas at church too. Most of us are non-believers. But we do believe in a good party.

We teach the kids about all religions. We have an age group each year with a "Neighboring Church" theme. I've taken kids to any and every kind of temple and church you've heard of. Also, some groups prefer to come in to our classes and talk to the kids. The Mormons do that. Also an American Indian.

Your daughter will be a wiser and not tolerant person for her upbringing.
Posted at 1:59 PM  

Blogger Kyahgirl said:

That sounds like a fantastic celebration to me.
I love spending time with friends at this time of year.
I used to have a Hindu friend here who gleefully celebrated all the Christian holidays right along with everyone else in North America. She couldn't see why a person can't celebrate the love and kindness and power we all share. I'm with her on that one.

p.s. godlessmom, would you please e-mail me? I'm hoping to pass through your area in March and wondered if we could meet!
lbalanko@compusmart.ab.ca
Thanks! If you're not interested thats ok too, just let me know ok? :-)
Posted at 3:45 PM  

Blogger P-Dog said:

I think that it is wonderful that you are raising your child to respect all. There is value in traditions. But you seem to be practicing your own.
Posted at 10:11 AM  

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