Solstice, Xmas, Chanukah. (Solmaskah?)Any holiday (or combination thereof) can be a great excuse for a party, and my family and I are usually game. Freakgirl had a great party last night, and American Atheists is having our Solstice party on the 17th.How do you celebrate the season?
Seeker
You actually saw a “Reason’s Greetings” billboard? Outstanding!
Where was this?
Billboard 4 suggestion: Reason your way through the Season, and Always!
Correction
My son tells me my ex mum-in-law’s Tea House is in Alberta.
I celebrate by reading billboards as I drive down the highways and by-ways. For example…
Billboard one:
Season’s Greetings
Billboard two:
Reason’s Greetings
Billboard three:
Jesus is the Reason for the Season
Still waiting for the forth billboard. Any suggestions?
Billboard 5: Heathens are the Reason Jesus has a Season.
Billboard 6: Heathen’s Greetings!
We’re pretty traditional I guess. Tree, lights, sugar cookies. We don’t have a lot of money this year so the plan is to record a christmas album at home (my laptop doubles as a home studio.) The wife and I suddenly realized that we have a lot of songs with the word ‘christmas’ in them. Some of them are a bit, well, anti-religious I guess (I didn’t realize this until my wife was like “we can’t send that one to you dad!!”) but they’re still christmas songs in their own right.
I’m sure Nemo Design plans to have another huge rock n roll party as always, so that will be fun.
Other than that, it’s just going to be your typical christmas morning and then a trip over to Nana’s house.
We’re going back to NJ for two weeks of seeing family and visiting clients. We’re packing up the dogs and the birds, renting a mini van and traversing the insane asylum known as I-95. For christmas itself we go to my wife’s uncle’s place, but not her uncle rocco, the other one:
http://www.defrancostraining.com/pics/pics_meatheads.htm#gdefranco
Ah yes, nice people, but sometimes I don’t know what to talk to them about.
Napoleo
You’re being poisoned. it’s the arsenic, man. Watch what you eat.
I, being an ordained minister of anti-bot justice, have summarily executed Napole?o’s last post.
Dave, I think it’s time Napole?o is shut down.
What exactly is it that we are supposed to be celebrating – the sight of millions wallowing in superstitious nonsense or American consumerism run amok? Sorry, but other than having a couple days off work, I don’t see much worth celebrating this time of year that I can’t celebrate every day.
I used to wonder how the guy who drove 5 mph under the speed limit managed to get in front of a line of traffic. So, I tried diving 65 in a 70 and, sure enough, within five minutes I was in front.
spanders
I-95 is pretty bad, allright. I hope your route doesn’t take you on the 495 beltway arount DC or Baltimore. We avoid that at all costs!
In case I miss when you leave, have a safe trip and a conversationally pleasing holiday.
My husband went to a Xmas party last night with the members of his volleyball team.
Tonight I go to one with involving my tennis buddies.
Next weekend is his work party; we’ll go to that one together.
My friend usually has one, but I dunno this year, things are a little different for her. We’ll still get together to exchange gifts.
Xmas eve, we usually get together here with a few relatives and eat a ham dinner or just pepperoni bread and sausage balls, cookies, cheeses, veggie tray, that sorta thing. Stay up past midnight wrapping presents and putting out the Santa gifts for grandkids.
Xmas AM,we get up and open gifts(IT’s nice that my kids are grown and we don’t have to get up at, as my so calls it, the “ass crack” of dawn!) Around 11AM my son & his wife and the grandkiddies (FUN!!!) and my Mom-in-law and bro-in-law come and we make a big brunch full of cholesterol. Then we open gifts some more. A Prohibitive amount of coffee is consumed.
Then everybody that wants to, goes home, and the rest of us take a nap.
Then we eat more cookies. I make about 6 kinds…and fudge. It’s the only time of year I bake much anymore. Naps and cookies. It’s a good thing.
Comment from: vjack [Member] ? http://atheistrevolution.blogspot.com/
What a sad existence. Maybe you should rethink that “superstitious nonsense”. At least most of those “wallowing” wake up each morning with hope in life.
The questions that comes to mind is “do you celebrate the reason for ths season all year long”?
Here’s a thought. Go to a soup kitchen on Christmas Eve. You’ll find the “reason for the season” there.
Actually, that’s a pretty good point for a change.
When I was a kid, my dad never once told me to avoid alochol or narcotics. Rather, he routinely took me to the rescue mission where he worked with the down-and-outers. My first hand experience with the effects of alcohol were more powerful than any sermon and fatherly lecture. I decided early in life on a simple strategy to avoid addiction: In over fifty years I’ve never tasted a beverage containing alcohol; never used drugs.
I’ve heard that some of the religious are those rapture believing people, but I didn’t think that my own mother would turn out to be one of them. She invited me to her mass so I could “see different points of view”. What I saw was probably one of the most mind boggling things ever. My mother failed to tell me that the father was one of those pray for the end of the world types. Some of the things he said were some of the most suicidel things I’ve ever heard. Honestly, what kind of person prays for the world to be engulfed in fire?
Like the rest of you all, my family and I, vistit family, over eat, extrange presents and sometimes get a little sauced in the process. Good times I dont mind keeping inspite of consumerism run a muck and yes it is run a muck! Even though I join in the holiday fun, I try never to forget about the hidden agendas of the big corps whole control and run our government. Come to think of it, it also keeps me from going overboard and ending up in dept like so many other people I know. Nothing wrong with celibrating the holidays as long as you keep a firm grip on reality.
And insead of going to soup kitchens once a year, we should go once a weak or more. The homeless and poor are hungry year round, not just at christmas times. Its sad that it has to take a holiday to remind so many people that there are less fortunate people in the world. Not so long ago Katrina exposed the horrible truth..lets never forget it again!
We load up the car and hustle up to Sandusky to visit with HSO’s family. Love that serious old fashioned home cooking. The in-laws go to mass, we stay home and reduce the surplus cookie population. Maybe later, go down to Marble head lighthouse or the docks and try to spot any of the lake freighters, which means I wind up with frozen cakes and a depressed longing for summer and Cedar Point.
We will stuff ourselves up at my in-law’s on xmass eve, and stuff ourselves at my parents house on xmass. Vice-versa on new year’s.
Ahh… Guilt-free stomach ache! It’s good to forget about dieting once a year. “American consumerism run amok?” Well call that what you want, I still say it feels good to offer presents to loved ones, or sharing a meal with all your loved ones.
I also plan on doing my maple duck recepie, marvelous with ice cider.
We also gave some money and non perishables to charity.
Phreedm said, “Here’s a thought. Go to a soup kitchen on Christmas Eve. You’ll find the “reason for the season” there.”
Way to go, phreedm.
Instead of buying a toy and putting it in a bin at a retail store to donate, the past five or six years my kids each pick out a gift and we take it by the homeless shelter for them to place under their tree. It gives them a more personal feeling about it; they are actually able to see the people living there.
Christmas Eve we go to my Mom’s who cooks a huge spread, turkey, ham, etc. Then we go back home and take turns reading “A Christmas Carol” aloud, usually watch “A Christmas Story” (the shoot-your-eye-out movie…we love that one). We have hot chocolate and snacks and open a few gifts. Christmas morning my Mom and stepdad come to my house and we have brunch. Then I usually fix snacks or finger foods with cookies and other desserts; we just snack on those all day, relax, and watch movies or read. I love to watch old movies like “Holiday Inn”, “White Christmas”, and “It’s A Wonderful Life.” And of course, “Christmas Vacation”. I’ve seen that movie dozens of times and still crack up when the squirrel is loose in the house.
Oops!the big corps whole control and run our government….I ment to say…the big corperations who control and run our government.
Peach63, the national lampoon Xmass vacation is a yearly custom here too
The squirrel part is just too funny
sword_strike,
Pretty much that whole movie is a riot. I liked the 1st Nat’l Lampoon Vacation too, where the aunt died and they strapped her to the top of the car. But “Xmas Vacation” is a hoot.
I grew up in a very secular household, but we did celebrate Xmas. Lately the family has been splitting up more and more due to sibling marriages/divorces/kids etc. My birthday is Dec 19th so that has always mucked up the winter celebrations even more.
My girlfriend and I have decided to celebrate the solstice/New Year in place of Xmas – same stuff, tree, cookies, gifts, nog(soy), just shedding the Xtian overtones. I especially love that decorated trees are specifically prohibited in the bible – another great example of Xtians picking and choosing what they want from the bible and ignoring the rest.
Careful. I’ve been corrected on this one before. If you go back and reread Jeremiah 10:2-8, it is clearly referring to a carved, wooden idol, not a decorated tree. I’m afraid godlessgeeks is just being cheeky.
BTW
Has anyone else here heard about the Humanist holiday ‘Human Light?’ It’s basically a solstice celebration. I’m thinking about heading over the the local humanist chapter on Dec 18 to check it out. Curious!
http://www.humanlight.org/
r4d I checked out the link. Very interesting. There are a couple of events happening in my neck of the woods as well. Just might have to check that out.
I end up having two Christmases: a Christmas party at my apartment, exchanging gifts with and meeting with friends (some of whom I don’t get to see but once a year, since they’ve moved), then about a week later on Dec. 25th, Christmas with my parents. I enjoy the Lampoons movie too! My favorite scene is the one where they ask the old lady to say grace, and she replies, “Grace? She died years ago…”
Zac
“I especially love that decorated trees are specifically prohibited in the bible – another great example of Xtians picking and choosing what they want from the bible and ignoring the rest.”
Great point!
Pasta
GREAT idea!! We call it winter solstice as well. Some one else said that when some one says merry christmas to them they say back to them, merry solstice. I love that! I do the same or say happy holidays. hehe
sntc, zac
Can you show me where decorated tress are prohibited in the bile?
I’d love to be able to quote it. Never heard of the issue before.
Holiday Inn
France recently passed a bill that wouldSarajevo.From there it was off to the Holiday Inn provides all of the desi…