Another year over, a new one just begun

Just a quick post to let you know that I am crap when it comes to year-end reviews; mostly because I leave things to the last-minute (consider this post as case in point) and can’t be bothered to assemble a meaningful retrospective off the cuff.

Therefore, I will simply use this space to wish everyone; yes, that includes you and the person(s) sitting beside you on the bus; everyone a Happy New Year.

May this stomach flu that’s being passed around bypass your home, and may your health be otherwise good.

May we see a year of less violence and more legislative action to address the tragedies of the past year.

May you at least make a valiant attempt to hold to whatever resolutions you may make for the new year, at least for a month. To go with that notion, let’s not be too rough on ourselves; make the changes we can, accept that we may not be able to achieve all goals, but always learn from the process.

May you hold your family above all. They are your life, your love, your past and your future. For those of us with children, they are your legacy, both figuratively and genetically; cherish them.

The world’s problems will not be solved at the turning of the year, but let us all do what we can, in our own little way, to help each other as a family, as a community, as a species, as a planet.

Happy New Year!

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Keeping the “Christmas” in Christmas

I had already started this post a couple of times, and each time I ended up getting bogged down with excessive wordage and tangents that trailed off and died slow painful deaths concurrently. I have also blogged about this in the past, but it’s once again on my mind so I’m going to try to keep this short and semi-sweet.

It’s Christmas time, and as it is Christmas time I will be wishing my family, friends, and people I meet, Merry Christmas; because it’s Christmas. I am not a Christian; I am not religious; I don’t believe in gods, messiahs, or poorly engineered censuses within Roman provinces in the ancient Near East. Yet, I wish you a Merry Christmas all the same, because it’s Christmas; and every other PC, accommodating, watered-down term seems, well, lame. I also realise that there are other faith traditions that celebrate this time of year, but other than using something broad like “Happy Holidays,” I will continue on with, Merry Christmas. For me, Christmas is about family and tradition. It’s about memories from the past and new ones in the making. It’s about decorating trees, opening gifts, and sharing meals. It’s about cookies and milk for Santa, and hay under the table and garlic under the table-cloth to ward of evil spirits. Christmas is about singing carols, working out which key to start off in. It’s about that feeling on Christmas morning that I experienced as a child, and now get to experience through the eyes of my own children.

I will be spending Christmas celebrating with my family as we carry on old traditions and create new ones. Others will be spending their Christmas celebrating in their own special way; some will even be celebrating the birth of Jesus. However you wish to celebrate, have yourself a merry little Christmas. I invite my fellow atheists to wish each other Merry Christmas as well. After all, we can wish each other a happy Thursday without getting all bent out of shape over Norse religion, can we not? Of course, the choice is entirely yours; but as for me, I will be keeping the “Christmas” in Christmas.

Merry Christmas!