Q:Is it appropriate for an atheist to celebrate Christmas?
A: “Yes, of course…
The secular meaning of the Christmas holiday is wider than the tenets of any particular religion: it is good will toward men...
“The charming aspect of Christmas is the fact that it expresses good will in a cheerful, happy, benevolent, non-sacrificial way. One says: ‘Merry Christmas’—not ‘Weep and Repent.’ And the good will is expressed in a material, earthly form—by giving presents to one’s friends, or by sending them cards in token of remembrance…
“The best aspect of Christmas is the aspect usually decried by the mystics: the fact that Christmas has been commercialized. The gift-buying . . . stimulates an enormous outpouring of ingenuity in the creation of products devoted to a single purpose: to give men pleasure. And the street decorations put up by department stores and other institutions—the Christmas trees, the winking lights, the glittering colors—provide the city with a spectacular display, which only ‘commercial greed’ could afford to give us. One would have to be terribly depressed to resist the wonderful gaiety of that spectacle.”
- Ayn Rand
1 comment:
Whether God is overwhelmed or not by Rand's commercial endorsement of the charms of Christmas is another matter. The original proclamation is 'Glory to God in the highest and peace on earth to men of good will' and I will go with that.
Thank you for your writing efforts over the year. I have enjoyed your architecture posts in particular.
Have a happy Christmas.
George
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