I’m sure there are some songs about budda or mohamad that would be equally heartwarming as a song about jesus?

Christmas time reflects how simular we really are.

It is a magical time of year, and you don’t need to believe to feel it.
Happy Holidays to All

I am an atheist but I think that Christmas does have a sort of magic, which isn’t at all supernatural but about a shared experience. Things I like about it:

– It’s been important to many peoples over time.

- It highlights the human capasity to hope at the very darkest point in the year (yes, yes, I know Christmas is not the solitice but it’s the first point where the fact that the days are growing longer can be detected with the naked eye).

- It’s yielded some amazing works of literature and music (probably art too) like Handels Messiah, A Christmas Carol, Christmas carols generally. Anyone who things they can make those cultural riches exclusive to their nation or religion is going to have to go through me first.

– I like the vast conspiracy aspect of Santa

- I like the feasting. Love the feasting.

At its best Christmas provides us with an excuse to recongize our common humanity and expresses universal aspirations for peace prosperity and a better world. I am an atheist. I’m also a humanist, and I think Christmas is great.

Love it. So dramatic. Gets me every single time.

One year I was hanging out with a cute boy (uh…before I got married) and his Christian family. It was really interesting to sing all those songs with people who really believed the story. Gave me a totally new perspective.

And a very large, very musical family it was, with SAB singing parts covered to excess. (As one of the youngest children, my only family role was to marry a tenor, since we sorely lacked one. Alas, although my husband would be a tenor if he could sing, he cannot carry a tune in a bucket!) The holiday season means music to me, and lots of it. I usually start the Christmas music on my iPod along about mid-October. Weirdly enough, even though I am not a believer, I find the more sacred carols to be the most moving. A really heartfelt rendition of “O Holy Night” can move me to tears. I’m not sure if it’s the story that moves me, or if it’s the memories of singing the songs with my siblings and parents and extended family, especially those who are no longer with us. It’s possible that the memory of my Uncle Harry belting out “O Come All Ye Faithful” is what really moves me to tears. When I hear certain Christmas songs, in my head I hear my Grandpa’s laughter, I see my cousin Beth’s shy smile, and I smell the single stick of Doublemint Gum my Great-Aunt Geneva put in each and every Christmas card.

My daughter is starting to love Christmas music, too, probably because I play it constantly in the house. We are raising her in a Unitarian Universalist congregation. I think for her this whole time of the year is all about the family. She is an only child, so Christmas means getting together with all the far-flung cousins, eating lots of great food and singing with the family. I don’t think she cares what the songs are about, as long as there is the singing.

As for Christmas carols, I prefer the secular ones in general, but I don’t shun the religious ones. Like you, I see them as a part of the tradition, and as part of my childhood Chrismas memories. Christmas carols are one of my favorite holiday traditions, so last year I compiled a list of (mostly ) secular carols I like to listen to at this time of year!

I think of it the same way I do about listening to folk music from other countries and other cultures. Sure it has a meaning that doesn’t mesh with my personal worldview, but why should that stop me from enjoying the other, aesthetic qualities?

If I try to put myself in some kind of atheist bubble, I’m only limiting my understanding of the world and capacity for enjoying the range of creativity and expression the human race has to offer.

Besides, is there some reason that atheists can’t enjoy some of the positive symbolic interpretations of Christian mythology?

“At Christmastime we celebrate the birth of a child that would bring peace to the world. And you don’t have to be a Christian to hope that’s true.” -Rev Billy (not a real reverend; a performance artist and activist – http://www.reverendbilly.org/)

“And if you just love the food and the songs, and don’t believe in any of it, you aren’t that different from a lot of people who sit in the pews every Sunday.” Garrison Keillor, last year’s Christmas special of Prairie Home Companion