So Jer gets a wild hair up his ass and sends little brother a message just to torment him, something about how atheists eat babies. It turned into a back and forth battle of the wits, in which little brother is poorly equipped. After a few messages, it stopped being fun for Jer. It's pointless to pick on someone in a different league. Little brother was very concerned about our hypocrisy of celebrating Christmas. Whatevah, what the thinks has never bothered me.
Tonight we did what many Atheists do around Christmas time, and went to see Ballet West's Nutracker:
My daughters sat enchanted the entire time, I can't even get them to do that with movies! The performance was spectacular as always, and we had a fantastic time. On the way there, I decided to put on some Christmas music to make me feel more festive. *sigh* Most of the songs they played are songs that I used to love and loved to sing with, then listening to the words, I decided that little brother might be right about having to be christian in order to celebrate Christmas.
I came home to an email from my friend Jeff (known on the DAMU as SL Slacker- known worldwide as a fantastic writer), in which he stated "It seems every time I put on a Christmas CD I'm enjoying the music when all of a sudden it blurts out something like "Oh Praise Jesus - Bow down and be clean from your sins because of the little baby." or something like that."
I couldn't agree more with Jeff, couldn't agree more.
15 comments:
Heh :)
I like to sing Christmas songs during the summer. It's great belting out "Joy to the World" or that "Halleluia" song after I've had a cup of coffee, then a latte... and shocking my co-workers with a robust moment. They all know I'm so not Christian.
Another fun thing is randomly announcing the number of shopping days before Christmas, starting in February.
"The Nutcracker" is so aptly named, given the male dancers and their tights. Do you know if there's a porno version available?
I view Christmas as more of a cultural thing. I think we should campaign to get the Jews involved. And I even still like some of the songs that mention Jesus, JUST because they're pretty. I can appreciate that. Atheists eat babies while dancing naked and singing Jesus-centric Christmas songs to Satan.
There are many things that Christmas can be (and many reasons to celebrate Christmas) that don't necessarily have to be tied into god. Many of my colleagues are from India or China and are not christian, but celebrate Christmas as much as anyone. They make it into an occasion that is about family and about giving.
I guess I am a grinch, but I have never liked christmas music. I think it is because I associate it with retail stores and I HATE shopping around christmas time.
A compromise would be to give little brother a "WTFWJD" ring for Christmas.
I have had this sad thing going on with Christmas for the last couple years. (My two atheist Christmases.) I used to really have emotional responses to Christmas music--particularly some of the less familiar traditional stuff, and I noticed that I still did, but this time I read it as a response to the human longings and common burdens and sadnesses that are often expressed in them. The idea that Jesus assuages those is, I think, very compelling and perhaps soporific--or has been for western culture. You know, we have burdens and struggles and injustices and abuses and at the end of it we're all gonna die someday. But hey--Jebus is gonna take care of all that, so woopee!
I think for me having a Very Atheist Christmas two years in a row has sort of stripped away that buffering of the human plight that religion very often does and put me more in raw touch with my own humanity. You know--I feel more compassion and empathy for that "struggling" thing that humanity does that I was often able to do when I would get all wrapped up in how Jebus is going to take us all to happy land.
BTW, someone here started updating her blog.
I was at the psychiatrist's office the other day for a happy pill checkup, and I noticed that they were playing Christmas music on the intercom. I couldn't help but think that was ironic, seeing as how a good number of people are afflicted with seasonal depression. Is Dr. Rick drumming up business with his muzak?
I'm an xmas sap - love the music, am listening to it now. DH just brought home a lovely little xmas tree (90 effing francs, damn overpriced country!). I am unabashedly enjoying some jesus-based sentimental xmas tunes. I wouldn't be anymore bothered and/or affected if they were songs about Santa Claus, so what the hell. :-)
I love Christmas music, especially when sung by the late greats: Bing Crosby, Nat King Cole, Sinatra...
And every time I watch ballet I wish I could do that too. Sigh.
I got a real kick out of "WTFWJD."
Here's a great card to print and send religious relatives:
Landover Baptist's Beautiful Christmas Card
Sideon- If there's not a porno of The Nutcracker already made, then I say go for it! Maybe that's how you will make your millions!
Rebecca- I totally agree with you. Oh, and this is off topic, but someone we both know showed me a picture of you. Hello, gorgeous!!
Ros- I hate shopping around Christmas time, too. It really brings out the worst in people.
Phoebe- love it love it LOVE IT!! Pure genious from you, as always!
Belaja- I love the way you think.
Ros- ABOUT FREAKIN' TIME!!
Randy- Oh the irony! Haha!
Wry- Good points, all the way around. And Froehliche Weihnachten to you!
SML- I bought my sister in law a rat pack Christmas album a couple of years ago and I love it! Those were the greats, I agree. I do still like the music, don't get me wrong. I was just listening to the wrong station that focuses on the extremely christian, sappy versions of the songs.
Gluby- How perfect, I absolutely love that link! I think that's what we should print off to give to little brother!
Tapping my fingers waiting impatiently for another update...
Reading Wry's comments again, and connecting it to your original post, I thought of rephrasing it:
"It seems every time I put on a Christmas CD I'm enjoying the music when all of a sudden it blurts out something like "Oh Praise SANTA CLAUSE - Bow down and be clean from your sins because of the fat man."
I hate it when that happens.
And I was just reading Belaja's comments again, and I agree -- very insightful. One of the most significant moments of my wife's transition out of the church came when, one day, she realized that her sense of ultimate responsibility to God only had insulated her from feeling responsible for others. She just, out of the blue (sort of -- we had been having quite a week), realized that she has a "responsibility to humanity" which she was abdicating by leaving everyone else in God's hands and only worrying about herself.
I think it's precisely the irony that Christianity (and probably religion in general) stifles real, conviction-based internal morality and instead encourages people to be focused on themselves and on reward/punishment-based morality (i.e. treasures in heaven vs. displeasing a frankly psychotically-punitive God).
On that note, I think this is a good example of a sign to put outside your home to help others feel the warmth of the holiday season (click on the link to see the image):
HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABY JESUS!
I love Landover Baptist. Good for lots of laughs.
Here's to my second atheist Christmas. I think celebrating as someone of Christian heritage is fine and dandy. The secular holiday about family and giving and children being delighted by the anticipation of Christmas morning is great. There are so many memories around Christmas that I can't throw out, nor would I want to.
But Jesus songs? Yeah, I can't stand them right now. Maybe in a few years I'll be able to appreciate some of the ones I used to like (Silent Night, Angels I Have Heard on High). But for now, I keep away from the music in general.
OK, FromtheAshes and Gluby you have set me off (great comments, btw). This is wisdom from a Pamper's commercial so, you know, take it for what it's worth, but speaking of Silent Night...
In this particular commercial they had a woman singing Silent Night a cappella and they just had a series of images of sleeping infants of all different races--really cute ones, one right after the other. At first, I was thinking, damn this is emotionally manipulative and they're sure milking that Jesus song, aren't they? And just generally rolling my eyes over the whole thing.
But you know, the older I get, the more of a sucker for babies I seem to get (I usually like them better once they're house-broken and can speak English). So I'm watching those images and some little part of me is going "awww" (though the rest of me is going "shut up with that!") Then that line came about "holy infant, so tender and mild..." and of course, I no longer believe in that "holy infant" with his impossibly virginal mother. What hit me very hard though, was the juxtaposition of those words with completely normal human infants. Yeah, "holy infant. Just plain ordinary HUMAN infants of all kinds and colors are the *holy* infants. If we were to sacralize each other that way instead of Jebus in the manger...
Then the animated words "Peace on Earth" came on the screen and morphed into the Pampers logo. Moment over. Ah well...
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