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Friday, December 25, 2009

«What Christmas Means To Me»

Wow. After writing that title, I feel like I'm back in school doing an English class assignment. Brings back bad memories...

For those of you who are new, or just haven't read any of the posts that I mentioned it, I am an atheist. As such, Christmas has no spiritual meaning to me. While I think my basic beliefs (or rather, lack there of) are fairly typical of most atheists, I am an individual. As such, a few of my feelings are probably a bit atypical1.

I subscribe to a life outlook similar to that of Nihilism. That being nothing has any inherent value or purpose. Things are only worth what we feel they are worth. With no grand creator or "plan", life has only the meaning we ourselves give it. It's a humbling, yet empowering thought. I like it that way. It means I'm not just a pawn in some grand scheme.

So, when the holiday season wraps around, I know these days are fundamentally no different from any other time of the year. The society I live in arbitrarily gives Christmas special meaning, but I personally don't.

So if you're one of the ones who gives Christmas a special meaning, merry Christmas to you. And for those with a similar outlook as I have, have a great Friday and enjoy the pretty lights your neighbor put up!

1: This is basically a disclaimer saying that I speak only for myself, not for all atheists.

Posted by Marf at 2:01 AM Email Post
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4 comments:

  1. BuncDecember 25, 2009 at 11:32 AM

    Hi Grinch,
    My views is not far from yours and I agree with your position on things only having the meaning we decide to give them. However I guess were we differ is that I choose to go with the "spirit" of Christmas and choose to accept it as a life affirming festival that marks an important end to our year. I don't subscribe to the religious element. I think the commercial element often goes overboard but it's nice to have a festival that celebrates goodwill to each other.
    Merry Christmas!
    Bunc

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  2. MarfDecember 25, 2009 at 1:29 PM

    @ Bunc: I've always thought goodwill to each other should be year-round.

    But yeah, it's fair to call me a Grinch. Although I don't go out of my way to ruin it for others...

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousDecember 30, 2009 at 1:37 PM

    Yeah, I'm an Atheist as well, but I celebrate Christmas for the presents!
    Vid

    ReplyDelete
  4. MarfJanuary 1, 2010 at 11:38 AM

    @ Vid: Yeah, that's why I took so long to admit I didn't believe in Santa!

    ReplyDelete

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