I have been listening to old episodes of Freethought Radio, and checking my roster of blogs and websites, and this year we have had the usual “War On Christmas” nonsense.
One theme I have heard this year is that a lot of christians think that atheists are hypocrites for “celebrating” Christmas and for taking the day off.
First off, I am not “celebrating” anything today. I am taking the day off, but that is not the same as celebrating. Nor does that imply any sort of worship or devotion. It is really bizarre the way some christians try to insist that on one hand, “Christianity is not a religion, it’s a relationship”, yet anything that atheists do IS a religion.
A lot of christians do not work on Saturdays. Does that make Saturday a holy day for them? If they can take a day off, why can’t the rest of us?
Plus, you kind of have to take the day off on Christmas if you want to or not. A lot of businesses are closed or reduce their hours. When the country shuts down, you take the day off too, regardless of what you believe.
What is really galling is their religion has forced all of us to change our routines, yet somehow they think they are being attacked or persecuted. Then again if you believe in superstition, all logic goes out the window.
Right now I am in Boise, Idaho for work. I am not too familiar with the area. I can go between the airport, the hotel, the client site, WalMart and the Mongolian place downtown. For the past few Christmases, I have either been unemployed, in an unfamiliar city, or both. So for me, having a day when I do not have to do anything is a nice break.
And if I get a day off because a bunch of people believe Bronze Age fairy tales, I am okay with that.