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As someone who doesn’t really care for Christmas, this is a weird time of year.

The “reason for the season” is supposed to be to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. Neither theologists nor the New Testament pinpoint the actual date of birth of Jesus, however (assuming he ever existed — something I am not convinced of). What few people realize, of course, is that the origins of Christmas are pagan and were celebrated in Europe long before anyone had ever heard of a man named Jesus Christ. In 350 AD, Pope Julius I made a declaration that Christ’s birth would be celebrated on December 25th. Theologists and historians seem to agree that he was simply trying to make it as easy as possible for pagan Romans (the majority) to convert over to Christianity. The early Roman Church simply took control of all the shrines and festivals. Places where pagan goddesses had previously gave oracles becomes shrines of the blessed virgin Mary. For the most part, the people didn’t really mind — they still had bonfires, feasts, gift-giving and, of course, excuses to get drunk. The switch from pagan to Christmas simply meant business as usual.

I consider myself an atheist. Since I don’t believe in God or Jesus, the whole reason that we celebrate this holiday (if you ask the majority of US citizens), you might wonder what I do for Christmas. The “magic” of Christmas is diluted more and more every year by commercialization. For so many of us, the holiday is nothing more than an excuse for presents and the stuffing of faces. In modern society, the idea of Christmas as a day to worship and be thankful for the Son of God is mostly dead. I am, therefore, not alone. My views on religion are summed up quite nicely by a friend’s “Religious views” on Facebook: “lights out — game over” (thanks, Jason).

I choose not to participate in most of the “traditions”. It’s been many years since I have stepped into a church. The last time was several years ago at Easter, when I felt obligated by family to attend. I have not erected a Christmas tree for a number of years. I have stopped purchasing gifts that will go unappreciated and, quite likely, returned for something else.

Does all this mean that I do not participate at all in the holidays? Absolutely not. I have just changed how I do it. While I’m not rich by any means, I get by comfortably and am still able to buy and do many of the things that I want. In previous years, I would spend tons of money on gifts for family members and girlfriends that, as I mentioned, often went underappreciated or would end up being returned. Last year, in particular, I decided to do things a little different.

A couple of days before Christmas, I went to the bank and withdrew a decent amount of money, all in five-dollar bills. I then drove to a mall about an hour and a half away (where I was less likely to run into people who knew me) and randomly handed out $5 bills to people I passed by (mostly to kids, but some adults as well). I can’t recall of one instance where I didn’t get, at the least, a smile in return. When folks started catching on and approaching me, I simply left and drove to another mall, and continued until I was out of money. That whole experience brought me much greater pleasure than buying meaningless items for family and friends ever has.

This year, I haven’t bought a single gift, nor do I plan to (likewise, I neither want nor will accept any). Last night, however, I did make a list of names and address of non-profit organizations in my area. I went through the list, picked out those I feel most deserve it, and wrote down a number next to their names. This morning, I’ll make a trip to my bank, then to the post office to pick up a number of money orders that I’ll then deliver to those non-profits (anonymously, of course). I’m sure they’ll appreciate it, put it to good use, and won’t try to return it for something else.

Unlike some, I do not get upset when someone wishes me a “Merry Christmas”. I suspect that if you wish your Muslim, Hindu, or Buddhist neighbors a Merry Christmas, they will grin right back and return the season’s greetings. Quoting Markham Hislop, “As an atheist, I like that. Even though I don’t share the Christian faith, I can respect the values of this most Christian of holidays — love, charity, compassion to those less fortunate, and a profound appreciation for the wonder of life. We need holidays like Christmas to remind us of the many good things humandkind is capable of.”

Martin Willett wrote: “We don’t need a non-existant God to send a son to be killed as a blood sacrifice for us. We just need to understand our shared humanity. That is the true message of this season of hope. We could do it at any time, but December 25th is traditional. The festival is called Christmas, it contains the name of a mythic religious entity that I do not regard as a god, but then so do the words Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. No big deal. As an atheist I have no more problems with Christmas than I do with Wednesdays.”

Lastly, to my family, you may or may not see me at dinner on Friday — I’m still undecided. I may end up making the trip down, we’ll see.

Merry Christmas, folks.

Executive Summary of John Goekler’s “The Most Dangerous Person in the World?”

“The things we fear most may be least likely to occur, which means the time, trauma and treasure we invest in them is a complete waste.

Security itself is an illusion. It is a perception that exists only between our ears. No army, insurance policy, hazmat team, video surveillance or explosive sniffer can protect us from our own immune system, a well-intentioned but clumsy surgeon, failing to look before crossing the street, an asteroid randomly hurtling through space or someone willing to die in order to do others harm.

In this sense, the only things that can truly make us more “secure” are not things. They are the courage to face whatever comes with dignity and intention, and the strong relationships that assure we will face the future together, and find comfort and meaning in doing so.

Imagine, then, what might happen if we simply quit listening to the scaremongers and those who profit from our paranoia. Imagine what the world could look like if we made a conscious choice to live out whatever time we have with courage, compassion, service and joy.

Terrorism is an act of the weak. But so is walking through the airport in our socks.

We can make better choices.”

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If you were to e-mail me over the holidays, you’d get a response like this. Unfortunately, I had to “tone it down” a bit (couldn’t make it as funny as I would have liked). =)

---------- Original message ----------
Date: Tue, 23 Dec 2008 17:35:03 -0500
From: Jeremy L. Gaddis
Subject: Out of Office AutoReply:

[This message was generated by an automated system.]

Greetings and salutations!

I am out of the office and my current whereabouts are unknown.  Even I do not know
where I am.  I am not *really* on vacation (as in, I'm not really going anywhere far away),
but as far as responding to email is concerned, I appear to be well outside the solar system.

Other than December 29-30, I will not be around until January 5th.

Boiler plate:  If you have any special needs, please contact the Help Desk.  They will have
the tools and skills needed to get you back on track.

If you are the Help Desk, then please contact Kevin or Ben.

If you *ARE* Kevin or Ben:  stop, take a deep breath, and reassess things.  If you are still
hyperventilating, then go ahead and break the glass (a.k.a. call my Blackberry)!

Happy holidays!

So this evening I’m minding my own business with a friend at a downtown location when a woman I met one night recently saw me and launched into a pitch that began with the most unusual opening line:

HER:  "JEREMY!  Hi, it's Gwen!  Remember?  I called you last week on your cell
phone and you said 'How did you get this number?' and hung up on me?"

ME:  "Um, oh, yeah.  I do remember."

HER:  "Yeah.  Well, anyway, I wanted to know..."

P.S. It didn’t go so well for her this time either.

• “Programming today is a race between software engineers striving to build bigger and better idiot-proof programs, and the universe trying to produce bigger and better idiots. So far, the universe is winning.” –Unknown

I have no idea where this quote originated; if you do, let me know so that I can give proper credit.