An Atheist Celebration of Christmas

As I decorated my Christmas tree yesterday, listening to Christmas music and pulling out cherished ornaments from years past, I couldn't help ponder the different perspectives from which I have celebrated this holiday. While I do not celebrate Christmas as a season of hope of salvation or rejoicing over a savior's birth, as many of my loved ones do, I am very aware of the many holidays that are a part of this season: the secular Christmas, the Christian Christmas, Hanukkah, winter solstice, and Kwanzaa. I have a strong sense of being a member of a larger, global community and can appreciate the meaning of the holidays for each of us.

I celebrate Christmas as an American tradition, something that is part of our culture replete with Santa Claus, Frosty the Snowman, peppermint and cinnamon, and holiday gatherings. But Christmas does hold a deeper meaning to me than just the superficial trimmings.

The meaning of this season to me is the hope I find in the continual renewal of the human spirit born in our children. Christmas is a celebration of their potential and a reward for what they will accomplish in their lives, for the advances we will make as a race through their ingenuity and determination. It is also a celebration of the relationships that foster growth and make memories as we grow older and fulfill our own potential in life. And finally, this season is a celebration of the year closing and the next year beginning. Whether the last year has been fraught with sadness or abundance, we ride the crests and troughs of life and celebrate these time-honored milestones as a way to mark our days.

In essence, this is something I think we all want for each other even though we use different words on different dates to say it all. These are my wishes for your holiday season and why I will wish you "Season's Greetings" rather than "Merry Christmas" -- from a place of inclusion and acceptance for all that this season brings to you and yours.