December 07, 2009
Athiest Holidays
by Dyran

I know it's been a while since either of us posted anything to this site and I apologize to any one who may care. I guess I lost a bit of interest for a while as well as being distracted by a few things. Mainly Torchlight and Borderlands. It had been a while since I'd done some serious gaming and I guess I kind of binged a bit.

If you're someone who observed Thanksgiving I hope you had a good one. We had the family over to our place and my wife whipped up a great meal for everyone. The one triumph was getting everyone to eat without any mention of a prayer. If you knew my wife's family you would definitely see this for the accomplishment it was. A house full of a Catholic Mexicans and no family prayer before the meal is no small feat. My wife's plan was to get the kids out of the way and eating first before any adults could try to round everyone up to mumble their incantations. We really didn't want a confrontation on what was supposed to be a happy family gathering and the plan worked great. The only trying thing I had to endure was my wife's sisters' assertions that they had mystical powers when they were kids because they could perform 'light as a feather stiff as a board.' I suggested that they should write their own physics book explaining why everyone else is wrong.

Other than that, it was nice to have everyone together for the holiday. Having a large feast with loved ones is a very human thing and has nothing to do with religion. I will be celebrating the rest of the holidays as well. We have a secular Christmas in my house because everyone loves giving and getting gifts and the holiday is a good excuse to do so. I just can't get into HumanLight. Maybe it's my upbringing that makes it hard for me to accept this new Humanist holiday. I will assure you that there will be no nativity scenes, nor happy birthday wishes to any imaginary infants in our holiday celebrations.

I am little torn on the whole Santa issue though. As a kid it was always so exciting going to bed and wondering what the fat little elf would leave you over the night. I remember trying to spot Rudolf's nose in the sky on the way back from my grandparent's house and how much fun it all was and I don't wanna take that away from my kids.

On the other hand, it is a false belief and some kids may not react well when they find out the truth. When I found out that Santa wasn't real I really wasn't upset at my parents or anything. I was still getting presents so what did it matter if it was a polar elf or my parents leaving them under the tree? It was still exciting to find out what I received.

The other objection I've heard is that by fostering this magical false belief in our kids will cause them to believe others. This feels to much like the dreaded slippery slope used by the enemy, so I'm not sure I buy it.

In the end I really don't think it's that big of a deal to be honest. Finding out there is no Santa is almost a right of passage as a kid. I could be wrong, but I'm not gonna sweat it too much. I may just try to use it as a learning tool for my youngest. Let her find out on her own the truth of the matter. I think it may be good experience for when she comes up against other irrational beliefs.

I'm gonna try to start updating a little more regularly. Not sure about comics, but I'll try to post some more of my ramblings.

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sem December 10, 2009, 9:52 am ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- As for Santa, I remembering figuring out a young age he wasn\'t real, since the handwriting on the labels on the presents matched my parents\' handwriting. My parents were trying to convince me that since Santa was busy that the parents were elves an thus they did write the labels, but Santa was real. I remember sort of agreeing with them but knowing that it wasn\'t true. I still like Santa, though, and I still love Christmastime, though now (being an agnostic atheist) I celebrate secular Christmas.