Yes :) There will definitely be "spirits" at our place as well :) I was thinking about maybe attending a midnight mass, just for the ceremonial aspect of it. I love the Christmas hymns and I have never been, nor have anyone else in my immediate family. Or Christmas brunch..... Not sure what we are going to do...
We have a tradition where we drive around and look at the Christmas lights. There are a couple houses in the area that have their lights dance to music. I love that tradition.
Music. During the holidays here there is so much music happening, of the classical variety, which I love even if its religious. We are lucky to have excellent performing groups, so lots to choose from. We save our money so we can afford these special events.
Service. In my unhappy family, Christmas was actually a good time. One thing I loved doing as a kid and that we still do now is make plates of cookies and treats to bring to people stuck working on the actual holidays. Around here, that's usually people at the nearby hospitals. We also give cookies to some of the local homeless guys that we know.
Food and Drink. Our group of militantly secular (but some are spiritual) friends do several progressive dinner-days of moving from place to place to eat and drink. We start with mimosas and whore-doovers in the morning, and move our way towards the evening at a friend's with a big screen where we watch something escapist while utterly sloshed after the day of food and booze. We live in a walking neighborhood so there is never a drinking-while-drunk problem. This is always a highlight of the year.
Friend adult gift exchange. Giving each other dildos and porn and other embarrassing gifts has become a tradition among the same group of friends. Way way fun after all the booze!
A Mass or other service with an awesome choir and lots of pageantry on the actual holy days. Again, we have quite a few to choose from, and even having to listen to some jeebus talk is okay in context.
Its worth really planning things and being committed, otherwise holidays can be a real downer if all you do is remember family and church stuff that is now of the past.
My husband and I are atheist, but we LOVE Christmas! We don't have kids, so there is no pressure to have a perfect holiday, and we can do whatever we want.
Our favorite tradition is the "Ugly Tree". Every year we go to a Christmas Tree farm and cut down the god-awfulest ugly Christmas tree we can find. We've been doing this for years, and now come early November, our friends and families start pestering us about the ugly tree.
People we only hear from once a year contact us requesting pictures of the year's tree. I swear some people I don't even know bug me to put up photos of the tree on facebook. I love this tradition!!
Another tradition we love is drunken present wrapping. This can either be done with nice Christmas paper, or the most hideous wrapping paper you can find. We invite friends over, supply large amounts of booze (and ample sleeping areas for crashing so no one has to drive), and everyone brings their wrapping paper and unwrapped gifts.
We eat, we get really plowed, and when everyone is really drunk, we attempt to wrap the presents. It is hilarious and everyone has a good time. The gifts look like they were wrapped by, well, really drunk people.
Often I like to stay home at Thanksgiving or Christmas and have a feast for the people that can't get home or have been outcast from their families.
Also, when I do go to visit my family, I like to do a dinner for all my friends the weekend before. My friends are as important as my biological family, and I like them more.
One of the few things I liked about living in the mid west,was Christmas.
We lived in a small Norman Rockwell kind of town. Everyone in town would light votives inside of a plastic (deli) container. They would line their driveway and the sidewalks with them. They would light them at the same time on Christmas Eve. Entire neighborhoods would then walk through the snow down to the Christmas tree lighting in the park. We would sing carols along the way, and pull the little kids on sleds.
Afterwards we would meet at someones house and have food and drink. We would then go home and put the very tired kids to bed.
Those are some wonderful Christmas memories. I don't live there anymore, but I still do the candles along the driveway. I use the ones with batteries in them. We still sing carols and have food and cocktails before going to bed. My kids think that's what Christmas is.
A lot of folks in our town do luminaries! They are lovely, especially if it snows! Most do the easy ones: votive candles stuck in a pile of sand or kitty litter and all inside a lunch-type bag.
The rest of the time I loathe snow, but on Christmas Eve it's okay.
The only midnight masses that were ever worth going to were the ones presided over by an archbishop - i.e.: the big cathedral with mobs of people showing off their furs and jewels, and all the incense, live music, pomp and circumstance you could ever dream of or expect from a floor-show like that.
But I haven't been to one of those in years. And in light of their sponsors' more recent activities against LGBT people and children, I think my stomach couldn't handle being in one of those environments for very long these days.
Sometimes I've traveled over that holiday, but I learned you have to get the hell out of the Xtian-influenced hemispheres if you want to get the hell away from Xmas cheesiness. And even then, Hong Kong does Xmas like you would not believe: All the Schmaltz and no Baby Jeezus at all, LOL!
Nowadays my holiday time is mostly devoted to having gay sex, baking goodies, making a fabulous NON-turkey dinner for those I love, and doing absolutely nothing else. We don't do a tree. We do gifts if we feel like it, or not if we don't. I call it the Anti-JeezusChrist!-mass. LOL!
I started a Solstice Tradition for myself a few years ago; it was a blast, so I've kept it up.
I bake lots and lots of cookies, most of which are not traditional "Christmas" cookies. I pore through my cookie recipe books, pick about six that are seasonally appropriate but not like a christmas tree sugar cookie decorated in green and red. Example: One year I made ginger cookies with huge chunks of candied ginger and pecans, sort of a twist on your traditional gingersnap.
I make up a list of people for whom I cannot afford to buy a gift and make up little baskets, or tins, or gift bags of cookies. Each person gets 2-4 of each type of cookie so that everyone gets about a dozen-ish.
Then I called ahead and make appointments to deliver my cookies to each house. I'd tell each person I was only stopping by for about 15 minutes. Inevitably, I would be offered a tasty adult beverage, so I'd end up staying about 3- minutes. I allowed for travel time in between each house. This all happens on Dec. 21/22, which is the winter solstice. I can't make but maybe 4-5 stops each night (and that's a LOT) because everyone wants to give me a cocktail or a glass of wine and after about three houses, I have no business driving. LOL I think this year I'm going to try to get a designated driver buddy to go with me, spreading Solstice Cheer and Cookies.
It's a great way to give something to my friends, spend a bit of time with everyone, and not have it be some major obligation for me or for them. Nobody's evening routine is too put out by a 15-30 minute visit and who says no to delicious homemade cookies?
I just realized how totally Visiting Teacher this sounds, but there's alcohol involved and I don't preach anything or have any kind of message other than, "Hey, it's the shortest day of the year. Have some cookies!"
Mine are a bit lame compared to some of the others, but 1. Watch Love Actually and the Holiday 2. Do a christmas jigsaw 3.Me - read a light novel with glitter on the cover 4.Bake certain foods as gifts 5. For the first time last year we got a mini tree and put chocolates all over it ( Cadbury christmas ones you hang). We said we would continue with this 6.Take it in turns, about October, to buy all female members hycinth bulbs to grow in time for Christmas. 7. Wine we ate too much!!
We gather at my mom's for the day for much food and drink and everyone brings a $25 (max) gift (although most everyone in my family is an artisan of some sort so most of the gifts are handmade).
At some point we play a game (poker, usually) and whoever wins the first hand, gets to pick which gift they want. They unwrap it. Then whoever wins the second hand, gets to pick and unwrap a gift and choose to keep it OR they can swap it with the winner of the first hand... essentially no one knows what they're going to end up with until the very end.
It's fun and funny as hell and the beauty of it is that it essentially removes xmas shopping (the expense, the waste, the stress, the sheer hell of it) from the holiday season, so that the holidays are just about getting together to eat, drink and be merry.
My son was born on Good Friday and we had an easter egg hunt on his birthday until he was 16 (at his insistence).
My son's middle boy was born November 1st so we always have his birthday on Halloween and after pizza, cake, ice cream and presents everyone goes out and trick-or-treats together.
Thanksgiving and Christmass have family tradition foods: sausage cheese balls, homemade cinnamon rolls, my spinach dip (heavy on the the mozzerella cheese and fresh spinach), and lumpias (I'm going to try baking them this year and see if they taste as good as fried. If they do that will be another tradition).
Also, after Thanksgiving and the turkey the kids all really look forward to my Tortilla Soup -- I'll post the recipe again if people want.
This year we are also planning to make popcorn balls for the Christmas Tree and string popcorn and cranberries. We'll probably put the strings on our juniper bushes out back for the birds after Christmas.
My children and I create a nativity scene that covers the furniture piece in the entry way.
We collect the most divergent gathering of figures we can find. Last year Joseph and Mary were played by 12 in. action figures of Neo and Trinity. The baby Jesus is a small faceless cotton doll that sits in a crystal salt cellar--his little cotton hand just fits the machine gun from another action figure.
The three wise men were played by large action figures from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. One rides a leather camel and one rides a leather elephant. They are perfect in their knight's gear.
The 'townspeople' are in part played by hello kitty, power rangers, and a gaggle of star trek action figures. Additional barn yard animals are usually played by dinosaurs, transformers, and monsters.
Jane Austen hung from a string above the whole scene in angelic splendor.
My children (early 20's) and I have a lot of fun during the year as we come across things we think will work in the nativity. My wife doesn't participate that much because it offends her father when he comes over, and she wants to be able to say that she didn't have anything to do with it. Oh, well.
My daughter has suggested a zombie themed grouping this year, but I don't know if I have the time.
It all fits perfectly into my humanist exastentialist life view.
I have a Halloween tradition that Im trying to start up. I wanted to put halloween to work since it's about celebrating the scary things in life. At the beginning of October, I list a fear that I have and conquer it by Halloween night. This way, I have more of a reason to celebrate Halloween. This is a part of my goal to make me fearless!
Our Christmas tradition is that we pretty much skip it and put a lot of emphasis on New Year's Eve. On the one hand it's too religious and on the other hand it's too commercial. We don't send out Christmas cards, or Season's Greetings, Hanuka or Kwanza.
We send out custom-made Happy New Year cards wishing anyone and everyone all the best. I do the art work and they always include the furry kids somewhere. I put a lot into them.
On Christmas we go to places that are usually packed with people. No one is there on Christmas morning. You can have it all to yourself. Your favorite hiking trail, the marina (my favorite), a park, the shore. It makes everything seem new and clean and beautiful to have it all to yourself for a little bit.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/26/2012 02:17PM by blueorchid.
We have a Tamale line. We make lots of them so we can freeze some.
A cool place to go for a ride during the xmas holidays is the Bear River Bird Refuge. Different views different years, but is always beautiful and NO bugs.
Another thing we started to do was cut our own tree. A Sunday morning is a great time to do this. We take hot chocolate and treats with us.
We do the Angel Tree through the Salvation Army. They usually set up Christmas trees at malls where you can choose a needy child's name and buy that child gifts. My kids really enjoy doing it. I usually have each one of them pick out a kid around their age and same gender and they help me pick out all the presents. My daughter really enjoys putting all the labels on the stuff too after we have purchased all the gifts. She even talks about the kids, "I wonder what she thought when she saw the present we picked out." and things like that. It's fun and it teaches them about giving to others and not just thinking about themselves.
This year I'm thinking of also starting a tradition of going to a soup kitchen and taking my daughter (my son isn't really old enough yet, I think they have age limits on that).
We also always go drive around different neighborhoods to look at the lights. There's a wealthy area that puts on a pretty cool light display every year and my kids love looking at that.
My daughter loves having traditions and is always thinking of new ones we can do. So, ask your kids if they have any ideas, let them participate in coming up with new family traditions.
Oh I like your idea of doing mass. I've actually thought of doing that too.
I also collect nativities, even though I don't really even believe in Jesus anymore, I still like the myth. For me it's all nostalgia and part of my tradition even though I don't see it the same way as I used too. I still love Christmas. And I like nativities. My kids like finding new ones.
I really love Christmas eventhough I became an atheist about 2 years ago. I love getting together with family. The last 2 years and again this year I have used a timeshare exchange to get a condo at a resort. My family is invited for the week, a day whatever works for them.Some can't make it at all and thats fine too.We swim, cross country ski, go to movies, ect... I don't give presents except to the littlest ones. It's all about good food, good DRINK, and good fun with my family. I like going to a Christmas Eve service if possible.
Tim Minchin's song "White wine in the sun" ( a christmas song describes it perfectly ) Awesome song I recommend to you all to take a listen to it on Youtube,
I love to go to this small, but very rich, town up north.
Their Main Street, is literally, two blocks long. They have a Christmas Parade is really impressive, even if it only goes two blocks. They bring out the town's fire apparatus - two or three engine companies - and each one has to wait while the other one goes along the 'parade route' because they are too long to get more than one on the street at a time.
The town is very artistic, major sculptures, etc. It's beautiful. Everybody stands outside on the sidewalk or on pickup tailgates drinking hot egg nog in 10 degree weather. Afterwards we go to the German restaurant and have sauerbraten... Then crash at a friend's house.
I used to want to decorate my house, but the only thing that would see them are cougars sneaking around my house, looking for the odd garbage can or a dog to eat...
When I was married, we spent Christmas at Heavenly Valley in Tahoe or Squaw Valley in Truckee skiing. No crowds, easy parking and it got me away from the fights, etc at my parent's house...
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/26/2012 08:38PM by John_Lyle.
I have certain foods I prepare for brunch every year.The whole family comes over and we open presents. I decorate inside and out, try to attend some Christmas concerts, go to a family member's for Christmas Eve dinner and usually attend Midnight Mass. I had a little nephew who died a few years ago. I buy some things he would like and donate them to Toys of Tots or a similar charity in his name.
We only have one unique Christmas tradition. Somehow, years ago, back before caller ID, a competition started between my Grandma and her sister-in-law, my crazy Aunt Jean. The goal was to see who could call who first and yell "CHRISTMAS EVE GIFT!!!" at the person on the other end of the phone. Later on, it became a competiton between all of us on my mom's side and Aunt Jean. There wasn't a prize or anything for whoever won, just bragging rights for the following year (which meant a lot, because crazy Aunt Jean would call at like, 430 or 5am sometimes. It was a big deal to beat her).
Other than that, watching Emmett Otter's Jug-Band Christmas is a tradition I never miss, and my mom always makes a cocoa basket to set on the kitchen table with festive mugs, different flavors of cocoa, marshmallows, little debbie snacks and cookies.
Instead of Gingerbread houses, we make small villages with grahmcrackers instead of gingerbread. It's more fun than using gingerbread because everyone can build their own little house and display a whole village! So fun
Another thing is the baking. Love to do sugar cookies this time of year, using holiday shape cookie cutters. Then we frost them with festive colors, add sprinkles and all pretties.
Fun time of year to get in touch with my creative side!
A lot of people volunteer at a soup kitchen or something like that. I think that is a nice holiday tradition that I would like to start in my family.
We like to go see the Nutcracker or a symphony performing Handle's Messiah.
Actually... my favorite thing is to go see the Seattle Men's Choir (a gay choir) do their holiday concert. It is beautiful, irreverent and a lot of fun!
Do you still believe in God, or are you an atheist? If you believe in God, is he the Christian God, or a more generalized God?
I'm an atheist, but I still celebrate Christmas a cultural holiday. I don't put out a nativity, but I do have a tree, with lights and those little plastic round things. In my house, Christmas is all about the greatest and most giving being in all of mythology, Santa Clause. We celebrate his spirit of giving and sharing. He's a lot cooler then Jesus, since the worst Santa will do to you if you have been bad, is give you some coal, while Jesus will throw you into hell for masturbating too much.
If you are a Christian, you can focus it on Jesus I guess, and not have to spend so much of the day talking about Joseph, tithing, and whatever that last lesson in the Sunday School manual is this year, which I believe is either on Revelations or Moroni.
Hmm. I am agnostic, leaning heavily towards atheism. But my family, DH and daughters are still Christian/leaning. I don't want my religious/unreligious stances to color their holidays. I'm pretty chill, hence the question. I just want to make this year memorable, in a good way. I really appreciate all of the great ideas, thanks everyone
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/27/2012 12:34AM by ambivalent exmo.