It's the Holiday Season

For most people, the holidays are pretty much over. I didn't have the opportunity to make a holiday post though, so now will have to do, while Kwanzaa and Hanukkah and New Years are still relevant.

I always say "Happy Holidays." A lot of Christian people don't like that. I am not Christian, so I really don't care that some people think I should put the "Christ in Christmas," or remember the "reason for the season" (although, really, the reason for the season is the tilt of the earth's axis causing the northern hemisphere to be at the farthest point away from the sun. Ergo, I think celebrating the winter solstice is most appropriate).

But I still celebrate Christmas. I like to celebrate the social reasons for a winter holiday: having a reason to gather with friends and family when the bitter chill of winter makes you want to be anti-social and never leave your bed; SAD prevention; the chance to eat really rich, heavy food at the best time of year to do so; being forced to acknowledge your appreciation and love for the people in your life at the time of year when you are probably crabby from the weather.

So, I celebrate with everyone, regardless of their celebration, or reasons for celebrating it. Why bicker about the details when we are all celebrating goodwill and peace? Will the card you receive in the mail be less meaningful if it's from a Mormon? Will the chocolate taste any less delicious if the chocolate-gifter is Jewish? Is the return to the daily grind after a long weekend any less painful for the atheist?

We're all children of the world, with stress and struggle. Why not wish each other well, even if we believe different things?

A Minor Pet Peeve

Something that really annoys me are religious people who believe that God intervenes all the time, and that prayers work. Prayers (at least according to my beliefs and you are encouraged to think and believe for yourself) are just well wishes. Wishes don't come true. People make them come true.

"I found my phone! Thanks for your prayers! God's will and love is so great!"

Um, you found your phone because you looked for it. If God did exist, why would God care about your damn phone? If you really think that God helped you find your phone, you damn well better start using your phone for more than sending texts to your friends.

Some things have a legitimate air of mystery that could be Gods presence, if God does exist, such as untreated cancer disappearing or... well, that's all I can think of.

If you narrowly avoided an accident, why were you almost in an accident in the first place if God wanted you to survive it? If it's a test, why would God intervene on your behalf during a test?

I don't get it. You narrowly avoided an accident because you swerved at the right moment, and/or coincidence.

Now, I'm not saying don't pray for people if they don't work. I certainly keep people in mind if I know they're going through a hard time, but I am not so disillusioned to think that my positive thoughts in any way affect their situations (unless I think about it so much that I do something to help them).

Anyway, this is something I've been wanting to say for years, but posting a snarky skeptic response to someone's Facebook status is not the place to say it, so I'm saying it on my soapbox.