Occasionally, people will ask me why I celebrate Christmas.  They know that I am an atheist.  What use do I have for Christmas?  The short answer is, I do it for the kids.  No reason to deprive them of all the things that go with Christmas, just because of my ideological hang ups.

But I have a confession.  Just between you and me.

I like Christmas.

Sort of.

On my terms anyhow.

The Christian Celebration of the birth of Christ… I can take it or leave it.

The modern secular celebration that extends from Thanksgiving to New Years, on the other hand, I can get in to.

There are a lot of things I like about Christmas Time, or maybe I should call it Xmas.  First of all, there is an emphasis on family and caring that is nice.  The gift buying is great for the economy, and getting a few nice gifts, makes me happy too.

But I think the thing that really makes me happy is the lights.  This is the darkest time of year.  The shortest day of the year is coming.  What better way to deal with this than to light every thing up.  Extra lights hung on the streets.  On Houses.  On Trees.  Lights everywhere.

It makes me feel good.  Xmas is great.  

A time when instead of going to work, I can stay home with my family.   What a great idea.  I think everyone can get behind that.

The more I think about it.  The American Celebration of Xmas is very secular.  And Commercial.  Santa Claus, as we picture him, has everything to do with the Coca Cola Corporation.  This doesn’t bother me at all.  It fits into our culture perfectly.

And when I see the occasional sign that says, “Don’t Forget The Reason for The Season.”  I smile to myself.  I think, maybe I have my own reasons…. and they aren’t half bad.