NoelSH {A Blog By Noel Herron

I fear that some atheists might feel that, since they reject certain beliefs, that they must reject any of its byproducts. Even in their own culture, Christmas being the most obvious. I might be wrong, but I see no issue with atheists (of which I am one) saying “Merry Christmas”. It seems that over the years Christmas has shifted a little from its original “praise Christ” origins. Nowadays , Christmas seems to be more about the feeling than the meaning.

I know that even before I became an atheist that the religious meaning of the holiday was secondary. I primarily participated in the event to show my gratification and love for the important people around me. When ever my parents would ask me why we were celebrating Christmas I would have to amuse them (and Jesus, because I didn’t want to go to hell) with the boilerplate “To praise the birth of Christ”.

I know that that was the reason why the holiday had been invented, but honestly I really only cared about the presents. It wasn’t until my mid-teens that I began to give gifts, and began to appreciate to pleasure of giving. So I never really had the time to recognize the holiday for what it really was, because only a few years later I became an atheists. And here I am today still enjoying Christmas, and giving gifts.

I suppose that the biggest objection to my view from other atheists that don’t think we should celebrate Christmas is, “Do you really need one day out of the year to tell someone you love them?” And I would say no. In fact, I give gifts arbitrarily when I have the money. The choice to participate in gift giving on Christmas is because of the mood generated during that time of year. For the most part, people appear happier, and the colors, lights, smells, combinations of hot and cold, pin trees, and the like, appeal to me.

Another complaint about an atheist celebrating Christmas is the obvious one, “What are you doing celebrating the birth of Christ?” Which I’ve already answered, you can take the Christ out of Christmas because there’s plenty more to participate in.

This entry was originally about the attached picture, so I think it’s time to talk about it. This was originally a bumper sticker sold on Bill O’reilly’s store, stating “We say Merry Christmas.” At first, I found the sticker charming and a little rebellious, in a cool way. Then I made this spoof – if you will. After thinking about it, I actually found the sticker to be a little arrogant. No one has ever said that you shouldn’t, or can’t say Merry Christmas. There is a difference between greeting your neighbor with it, and insisting that it be used in school or government. People don’t want to feel disenfranchised, and some might want to uphold their constitution. The First Amendment only matters if we enforce it, lets not just talk the talk, shall we.