Holidays

[nomoxian]

Winter is coming - and so are a bunch of holidays.

Some, like Halloween, are secular (or anti-religious, depending on who you ask)

Others, like Christmas, have religious origins (Pagan or Christian, depending on who you ask) but have become secularized for many.

What holidays do you celebrate? How do you do it? Or if not, why, and do you do anything else instead?

[PennySycamore]

We do celebrate Halloween although my husband didn't want our kids to dress up as anything scary when they were little.  

My husband will be out of the country on Thanksgiving so we may get to skip "Grace".

I do celebrate Christmas, but skip the religious stuff as much as I can.  One of my favorite holiday albums is Jimmy Buffett's Christmas album which has not a single religious song on it.  Another is Rod Stewart's which has just a couple: Silent Night and We Three Kings.  (We Three Kings always reminds me of how we sand it as kids: We three kings of orient are, trying to smoke a loaded cigar.)   There are a couple of movies they show on TCM which I do love even if they do have some religious context:  3 Godfathers, about 3 bank robbers who find a  newborn babe and  his dying mother just before Christmas, and Star in the Night, a short set in a desert motel which is a retelling of the nativity.  It was legendary director Don Siegel's directorial debut.  Hallmark Movies and Mysteries started showing movies about Christmas "miracles" a few days before Halloween.  No thank you!  I have my dad's collection of window candles and like to put them up because they remind me of him and my mom, too.  And if I can manage it (and there's nothing I'd rather watch on TCM right then), I'll listen to the public radio broadcast of A Festival on Nine Lessons and Carols from King's College, Cambridge on Christmas Eve.  Yes, it's religious, but it's also very traditional.

My youngest daughter and I like to celebrate Festivus.  I don't think that I could get away with putting up a Festivus pole, but she could.  Speaking of Festivus, No Evil Foods calls their vegan non-turkey the "Feast of Strength".  Sounds like a good way to celebrate for us non-theist vegetarians.  

[nomoxian]

Easter is coming, which means lots of closed grocery stores (and then lots of chocolate and candy on sale after they reopen)

I'm starting a new job, and hopefully I'm going to be able to work next weekend. I don't even care about the extra money from working on a Sunday plus it being a holiday. I just care about my right to work despite it being the only other day than Xmas when all of the "Christians" go to church. The job that it's replacing allows me lots of flexibility. I don't get extra money for working nights or holidays, but I prefer those times... except for today. About to work now!

[Pecansforeveryone]

@nomoxian, I love your avatar! Rufus bless you and keep you as you go to work. Rufus be gracious to you and make his face to shine upon you. I have no interest in celebrating Christmas. My father died suddenly 12 years ago around New Years. I used to be a Christian and worked at a "Christian" eating disorders center. They had a secret Santa that I opted not to participate in. I was given so much shit from these good "Christian" women for not participating. Why?!  I didn't stop them from participating or give them crap?! That plus working four years in retail absolutely killed Christmas gift giving and Christmas in general for me. There is also a lot about the idea of Santa watching you when you are sleeping and knows when you are awake that I think is unhealthy and teaches children to be good to get presents rather than for it's own intrinsic value.  I still give my nieces Christmas presents because hey they are 4 and 6. I love watching Christmas family vacation though. So quotable. One of my favorite movies, period. Thanks for listening to this rant. 

Edited April 30, 2019 by Pecansforeveryone
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