Happy Holidays
So why should a hedonistic athiestic nihilist care about Christmas? Because the Winter Festivals are all socially positive.
My tenet to life is do whatever the hell I want as long as it doesn't interfere with anyone else's opportunity to do whatever the hell they want and it neutrally or positively affects the ability of our society and species to continue. (Doctrine one of social hedonism). Obviously there is a large amount of utilitarianism in there, but believe it or not there's deontology too. Kant's universalism is a great help to me when I can think of no reason NOT to do something but still feel I shouldn't. Often it's because I'm putting myself into the other person's shoes. And if you feel bad about the idea of it happening to you it fails his doctrine. This may not seem like it affects our society, but there's a need for trust in society, as Hobbes said ever so long ago. If we've handed over so much of our power to our Leviathan (and can you think of a better name for the Conversative Government? Neither can I.) we need to trust that any other control we hold over our lives isn't being run over willy-nilly by our fellow plebians.
The Winter holidays are a time to remind ourselves that we do live in a community. That community involves people in good and poor situations. That community involves friends and neighbors, loved ones and strangers.
During the other seasons there's so much to do outdoors. Community things, social things. This year I spent a lot of time at the park watching free movies and having a picnic with hundreds of other people. We made eye contact. We smiled and laughed and talked freely (with the help of a glass of wine or two.)
In the Winter we keep our heads down (or hidden by umbrellas). We want to get home to warmth, to safety and comfort. In the winter, pushing your way onto the packed bus is much more important, even if the next one is in five minutes. We lose our connexions to the other people who make up our communities.
In the Summer, it's less hard (not not-hard) to be homeless. Days are longer. Weather is warmer. Sleeping outside is a blessing, not a curse. Seasonal work is more plentiful.
But there's no berry picking in the Winter. And because of the cold snap we had in November this year, shelters have instigated a no-turn-away policy. People can sleep in chairs in the hallway if that's what it takes to keep them safe. Times when people can panhandle are drastically reduced as people stay in once it's dark. Noone cares.
But at Christmas everyone smiles, makes eye contact. The warm breezes are replaced with fairy lights, the whisper of the leaves is replaced by carols. At Christmas, even those people who feel marginalised because of belief (or lack thereof) can feel a little burst of community and societal love despite maybe not knowing -exactly- what the "original" purpose of the holiday was. Peace on Earth, Goodwill towards your fellows, Support for the plight of the less fortunate--these are what the holiday means in the here and now.
So I don't really care if you wish me a Merry Christmas, I will not lecture you. And I'm more likely to wish you a Happy Christmas than a Season's Greetings, anyway. Because whatever your theological (or ethical) beliefs, this month it feels like we are one societal machine with multiple parts...and a little bit of holiday cheer can be the lubricant we need to slide past each other for the next few dreary months.
Also, I like the excuse to spoil my nieces and nephews.
Final note : "xmas" is NOT anti-Christian. The X is the greek letter chi, and it's LONG--like, since the Romans, long--been associated with Christ.
