Is it about Santa or Christ?

I saw this at an antiques mall. Little kids must have been a bit confused to think that Santa visited Jesus when he was born. I mean, why didn't Santa bring the poor baby something useful... like a house?

As a kid, I don't really remember Christmas being about Christ. I'm sure we went through the motions of going to mass and all. Christmas was about my uncle Roe dressing up as Santa, and us kids waking up to presents. The church part of the holiday was just that thing we HAD to do before we could get on with the fun stuff. Most of the religious part of Christmas as a kid is a blur to me. So you can see how much of a lasting impact THAT had on me. Bring on the presents!

The part I do remember occurred when I was a little older. My step-dad was really tight with his church. The "thing" to do was attend midnight mass. His church wasn't huge, but it was nice. He was good friends with the priests and the church ladies. Those church ladies were a hoot! They were everyones' mother. They made KILLER eggnog and the most excellent cookies. We kids dutifully snacked on the cookies and said the correct thank yous and answered the old ladies' usual questions.

I don't remember midnight mass being anything special. It was long. It was late. We were tired. It was freezing out. We didn't feel like dressing up so late to attend a mass that actually was... at midnight. We didn't really care at ALL that it was Christ's birthday. We just did what we had to so that our step-dad stayed in a good mood, and he loved Christmas and usually was in a good mood.

Our step-dad so very proudly took the family to mass. To show what a good, Catholic family man he was. If you took out the word, "family," then I could say that last part was true. He was a good man. He was generous. He obviously was a devoted Catholic (which I can only guess at because he certainly didn't involve us kids in that part unless it was Christmas), and he needed a "family" to stand in for his delusion that he was a family man. Obviously, I have issues with my step dad. He wielded so much power and control in our lives, yet the one thing that we would have benefited from (religion), he failed us.



Here is a good article about Christmas traditions

De-cluttering God

You know those cards they give out for dead people? Yeah, these.


I'm getting quite a collection. Not surprisingly, the older I get, the more I acquire. We all have these little cards. Some actually mean something. Most I take because I'd probably seem like a douche bag if I didn't. To me, most of it is clutter.

As a child, in religion class, we were taught that it was sacrilegious to throw away, deface, disrespect, or do anything other than respect and protect anything with the likeness of God. So what does one do with these useless little cards? I throw mine in a box. I recently went through them and tossed some in the trash. No guilt. The people those cards represent are gone. It's not like I display the cards. I don't ever even look at them. Heck, some of those people I rarely even think about anymore. I just know that there is a box on my shelf that takes up space--clutter.

Some of those cards are gone. I kept the ones with the most meaning--the closest or most special friends and relatives. I have to admit it kinda sucks about the ones with the person's photo on it. I think it'll take more time to let those go. Some I keep so that I remember the dates the person lived. I guess those sections in the bible for the family tree actually do serve a purpose.

The actual religious items are not the only things that I am de-cluttering. My whole mindset about religion is overdue for a round of de-cluttering. There are some things that I'm having a hard time letting go of. I think this is especially so because of the time of year. Everything is about CHRISTmas--the music, the decorations, the greeting cards. If Christmas was JUST about a tree and Santa, then it probably wouldn't be a holiday. It would be about the same as Halloween--a fun day for the kids. At any rate, I'll continue to enjoy Christmas, even if it includes religious references. Even kids who no longer believe in Santa still maintain a fondness for the guy well into adulthood. Yes, Christmas will be a hard thing to declutter.

Stupid Atheists!

Atheists hijack Christmas nativity display in Santa Monica

Oh this is so wrong. People like this give Atheists a bad reputation. Atheism is not a religion, so in my opinion, there is no need for them to make a presence amidst the lovely nativity scenes if it is only to blast and discredit Christianity. Leave them alone! There is no harm in it! It's there for the majority who DO believe in Christ. Let them believe. If Atheists want a piece of the action, why not display scenes of peace? Christmas represents a peaceful story in the Bible and it makes people feel good!

Stupid Atheists!

Hollow

This year is different. I feel different. I wonder if turning my back on my Catholic faith has caused me to lose something that was key to the holidays. For many of my adult years, the religious aspect wasn't front and center, but it was there, hovering in the background. What I mean is, in my own family that I am raising, we didn't celebrate the birth of Christ. It was all about Santa when the kids were little, and about gifts and food as they got older. I feel hollow this year. I don't know if it's other anxieties creeping in or if it really does have to do with the change in my religious beliefs.

I still love holiday songs about Jesus. The story of Jesus's birth still appeals to me, even if I don't quite believe it. I love looking at beautiful and creative nativity scenes. That may seem strange, but all these things were a huge part of my Catholic upbringing. I'm sure I didn't appreciate any of it back then, but still, it meant something. I don't really want to give that up, but as an Atheist, am I expected to?

Today I have Christmas trees, music, decorations, gifts, edible treats. It's really the same as it's always been in my adult life. I don't understand why the removal of that tiny religious part feels like I'm giving up so much.

God didn't answer... or did he?

I asked my 13 y/o daughter how she came to the realization that she is an Atheist. She said she once asked an adult about God when she was very young, about 6 years old. This person told her the basic Christian belief that God is good, he is everywhere, and he will answer your prayers.

So, the mind of a 6 y/o can be a funny thing. They take things literally. That night she "prayed" to God to make a pencil move. No answer. She prayed for other things. No answer. So in her logical mind, God did not really exist. This brings me back to the time I was about 7 years old, and my parents had separated. I have a few vivid memories of my religious experience, and one very clear memory was the time I kneeled in church on a Sunday praying with all my might for my parents to get back together. No answer.

Perhaps my daughter and I each got the answers to our prayers. The answer was, there is no God. It just took me much longer than it took my daughter to realize it.

God is a bastard

This poem was in the printed memorial for my friend, Jim, who died unexpectedly at age 39. He was one of the good ones.

I have seen several young, tragic deaths in my life, and I am not comforted by the belief that "God needed a good one up in heaven," or that "God needed an angel in heaven to look out for [you]." Bull. Shit. And why make people suffer so much before whisking them away to heaven to relieve them from their pain?

As a Christian, I would be pissed, not only at God, but at the priests and ministers who throw this crap at us to try to minimize the fact that God is a major bastard for taking the people I love.

If this comforts people in their time of loss and keeps them from going ape-shit crazy, then so be it.

In my mind, there is no God. Jim was unlucky.

I'm sad.

:o(