Merry christmahanuzaastice

Ah, to be atheist over the holidays.

OK, so the way I look at it, human beings have been celebrating the winter solstice in various cultural ways since the dawn of time. Many of these celebrations had nothing to do with a particular deity. Many did. Here in the land-o-plenty, all of those celebrations have been muddled into the consumerist red and green gimme-gimme that has become our holiday season.

So sure, go ahead and wish me a merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Kwanzaa or whatever the hell it is you celebrate, I'm perfectly okay with that. I'm not going to be offended by the fact that you celebrate something different from me. I'm happy that you have a tradition to hold on to at this time of year.

That's really how I look at it. Yes, I'm atheist, which means I don't recognize/believe in a higher power. However, I still celebrate Christmas. Part of that is obviously because if I started telling people I wasn't celebrating Christmas anymore, they wouldn't give me gifts.

I'm kidding. Well, mostly.

I celebrate Christmas for the tradition of it. It's part of our culture. And it's a time ripe for a lesson to my kids. Sure, they get gifts over the holidays, but the way I see it, while the getting is great, the giving is better. So I guess you could say that I don't celebrate Christmas, I celebrate the giving spirit of humanity.

I took my kids shopping to purchase gifts for our school Giving Tree. They each picked out a toy for a child who wouldn't have had one otherwise. We also picked out a ton of food for our school's food drive. And every chance I get, I cram the idea down their throats that we are not entitled to anything in this world - we must work for what we want, and give back when we are given something.

I know that some people look at atheists as being unable to appreciate magic in life. The way I look at it, the magic lies in how people can be so good to one another and by doing one good deed, can set off a chain of events that make a bigger impact.

So this holiday season, pay it forward. Buy the coffee for that person sitting in line behind you. Drop a 20 dollar bill on the floor of the grocery store. Donate coats, hats, scarves, etc. to your local school or shelter. Volunteer your time in a pursuit that interests you. Teach.

And be thankful for what you are given. Whether it was God, Santa or yourself who gave it to you.