Happy Holidays and, more specifically, Merry Crimbo! We know that most folks (atheists included) are spending Christmas day unwrapping presents, eating massive amounts of food and assembling shit for their children. If you feel like spending part of your day listening to our podcast, you will hear us talk about our favorite and least favorite Christmas stuff. We also tell Christmas stories. Molly shares how old she was when she finally stopped believing in Santa Claus. All that and we even manage to read another listener’s answers to our five questions!
Well, December is upon us and it’s time to look at what we have lined up for the next several weeks. Are we going to take the holidays off?
Screw that!
Here’s what you can listen to this month.
December 4th – We’ll be talking to Norm Barrett Wiik about Camp Quest. We’ll also be launching a holiday donation campaign for the Minnesota Chapter of Camp Quest. Help Geeks Without God sponsor a child’s secular summer camp experience! We also settle the drunken bet that Molly and Nick made in Episode 21.
December 11th – Our December geeky boner episode covers Butt-Numb-a-Thon, basement organization and Molly’s secret shame. We also talk about Malta. ’Cuz who didn’t want to know about Malta?
December 18th - We talked with Brianne Bilyeu, who writes the Biodork blog on Freethoughtblogs. She had a huge list of stuff she wanted to talk about and we got through most of it. We talk about her blog, her job, her volunteer work and a whole lot more.
December 25th - Our 25th episode will be up on Christmas Day! We’ll talk about being atheists and navigating the holiday season. We’ll also share our favorite holiday movies!
This is obnoxious. First of all, the surface problems with this are clear. It’s very entitled, and it’s a shining example of Christians not understanding that loss of privilege ≠ loss of rights. On its face, it seems accepting enough. After all, the author goes out of his way to let you know that you Jews and blacks are all right by him, so long as you don’t get offended by him wishing everyone a Merry Christmas because that’s what he celebrates. But I am willing to bet that, were this Christian to be wished “Happy Hanukkah” during Hanukkah, he would be annoyed and say, “I’m not Jewish!” Similar for a Blessed Kwanzaa. So right away, I’m wondering if the respect he demands for his Christmas celebration would be given in return to, say, everyone else.
But let’s get to what really gets on *my nerves. I’m a huge word nerd. I also have a very strong opinion regarding words. THEY ARE JUST WORDS. They only have the power you give them. If you are so bothered by someone saying “Happy Holidays” rather than “Merry Christmas,” you really need to grow the fuck up. There’s no difference. None. Think of it this way: if I said “Happy Holidays” to you in a language you didn’t understand, and you asked me what I said, and I told you it means “Merry Christmas,” you wouldn’t know the difference. Because it’s the thought, the feeling, the intention that matters.
Words are the tools we use to communicate with those around us. Someone who says “Happy Holidays” to you is just conveying “I wish you well during this season of celebration” in their own way. And despite what the crazy Christians would have you believe, no one is legally forcing companies and businesses and television stations to say “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas.” They’re choosing to do it. Because they want to include everyone and to make everyone feel warm and happy and festive. It’s not about taking away your Christmas. It’s about letting everyone else in to celebrate together.
Go ahead and call it a Christmas tree. Guess what, asshole? I’m an atheist, and I call it a Christmas tree, too. Posting this doesn’t mean you’re taking some moral stand. You’re not the Rosa Parks of Christmas. You’re just an insecure bully trying to make everyone do things your way.
