Parties
Tracy Oldfield
Hi all! I just have a quick thought to add to this thread. My second
daughter's birthday is at the end of December, and as we aren't Christian,
I'd prefer not to celebrate Christmas, but it's unavoidable without claiming
another religion, (I'm veering towards Paganism, it makes sense to celebrate
the planet we live on than some 'higher' being or beings I don't believe in,
but anyway...) So we TRY to make Christmas lower key, the family
get-together, and make the birthdays more special for the children, after
all, it's THEIR day. This is specifically because of A's birthday, but
also, I feel hypocritical 'doing' Christmas when I don't believe the Bible.
Tracy
daughter's birthday is at the end of December, and as we aren't Christian,
I'd prefer not to celebrate Christmas, but it's unavoidable without claiming
another religion, (I'm veering towards Paganism, it makes sense to celebrate
the planet we live on than some 'higher' being or beings I don't believe in,
but anyway...) So we TRY to make Christmas lower key, the family
get-together, and make the birthdays more special for the children, after
all, it's THEIR day. This is specifically because of A's birthday, but
also, I feel hypocritical 'doing' Christmas when I don't believe the Bible.
Tracy
David Albert
Tracy Oldfield wrote:
don't celebrate any holidays (or, more accurately, all days are holidays
as they hold equal promise for revealing the divine to us); as a
cultural matter, we are free to do as we choose. We are very conscious,
however, of how important Christmas is to the people around us, and we
try hard to honor that. For several years now, my wife has taken my
daughter (a violinist) to the local hospital on Christmas Day where she
(daughter) goes from room to room playing carols for kids who can't get
home for Christmas and their families. My younger one (a pianist) goes
to the local nursing home to play.Prior to holiday, they usually set up
shop outside the local supermarket and play and collect money for the
local homeless shelter at which we all volunteer. The day after
Christmas we have a family tradition of heading to Seattle to a
Unitarian church which has the largest Handel's Messiah Sing-and-Play-In
in western Washington. (when we lived in coastal California, the day
after Christmas was a day to go visit the elephant seals, and celebrate
the natural world around us.)
We also celebrate Chanukah -- but with the militarist story removed --
rather as a celebration of light in the darkness, hope in hard times. We
do it up with lights, potato pancakes, and the whole bit. We also
celebrate Diwali -- the Hindu festival of lights -- commemorating the
victory of good over evil. My kids developed a puppet show to go with
it.
The point is that lack of strong religious belief in your case, or
objection to adult myths foisted upon children in mine, has to take away
from the opportunity of celebrating who we are as a family, or as part
of a larger community. There is so much to celebrate!
David Albert
--
My book "And the Skylark Sings with Me: Adventures in Homeschooling and
Community-Based Education" will be off the press around September 30.
To read a sample chapter, reviewers' comments, or the foreword, visit my
website at http://www.skylarksings.com
> From: "Tracy Oldfield" <Tracy@...-online.co.uk>There are other alternatives. As Quakers, as a religious matter we
>
> Hi all! I just have a quick thought to add to this thread. My second
>
> daughter's birthday is at the end of December, and as we aren't
> Christian,
> I'd prefer not to celebrate Christmas, but it's unavoidable without
> claiming
> another religion,
don't celebrate any holidays (or, more accurately, all days are holidays
as they hold equal promise for revealing the divine to us); as a
cultural matter, we are free to do as we choose. We are very conscious,
however, of how important Christmas is to the people around us, and we
try hard to honor that. For several years now, my wife has taken my
daughter (a violinist) to the local hospital on Christmas Day where she
(daughter) goes from room to room playing carols for kids who can't get
home for Christmas and their families. My younger one (a pianist) goes
to the local nursing home to play.Prior to holiday, they usually set up
shop outside the local supermarket and play and collect money for the
local homeless shelter at which we all volunteer. The day after
Christmas we have a family tradition of heading to Seattle to a
Unitarian church which has the largest Handel's Messiah Sing-and-Play-In
in western Washington. (when we lived in coastal California, the day
after Christmas was a day to go visit the elephant seals, and celebrate
the natural world around us.)
We also celebrate Chanukah -- but with the militarist story removed --
rather as a celebration of light in the darkness, hope in hard times. We
do it up with lights, potato pancakes, and the whole bit. We also
celebrate Diwali -- the Hindu festival of lights -- commemorating the
victory of good over evil. My kids developed a puppet show to go with
it.
The point is that lack of strong religious belief in your case, or
objection to adult myths foisted upon children in mine, has to take away
from the opportunity of celebrating who we are as a family, or as part
of a larger community. There is so much to celebrate!
David Albert
--
My book "And the Skylark Sings with Me: Adventures in Homeschooling and
Community-Based Education" will be off the press around September 30.
To read a sample chapter, reviewers' comments, or the foreword, visit my
website at http://www.skylarksings.com