Non-Holidays

 Marcus Alden Meredith
November 29, 2025

Non-Holidays: An Atheist Surviving “The Season”

I don’t celebrate “The Holidays.” Well, at least not like most people I suspect. I’m not a believer so these times are more like me getting used to the Winter Season and preparing for New Year’s Day (which I think of as more ore less a secular holiday). So what do I do during this time. Well let’s look at the three big ones found in the history of my family: Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years.

Let’s start with Thanksgiving. It was a great holiday in my family always because Thanksgiving is really a secular-ish holiday. Anyone of any creed or background can celebrate a time of thanksgiving and I’m sure that was part of why Abraham Lincoln wanted it to be celebrated (he wasn’t actually a Christian… more of a secular deist). And in my family, it was always a time for gathering “the tribe” together to catch up on things and talk about the year that was. But it’s been three years since Dad passed, 14 since Mom was gone, and with my sister’s kids not always available… well it can be a bit of a disappointment compared to seasons past. Add to the mix this season a disagreement between my sister and her sons new wife, gifts not accepted or understood, and just good old human stupidity and it was not quite as festive as in years past. Then, as if to add insult to injury, my sister was getting over some virus that made her very tired… and I got a dose of it that took me a couple of days for my immune system to defeat. Fun. Suffice it to say it was not the most fun and festive time at Thanksgiving I’ve had. My friends got together the Sunday before for a “Friendsgiving” and that was actually a lot more fun. So, the first of the holidays has come and gone and I’m just glad that it wasn’t a complete disaster.

Next, of course, is Christmas. Mostly in my family it’s been another chance at a get together, a time to share company, food, and joviality. This year, my sis and her hubby are on a 12 day Viking Cruise up the Danube from Budapest to Prague and don’t’ get back until a couple of days after Christmas. So this will be the first time in my life that I have NOT celebrated Christmas with either friends or family… just another day. And that’s okay. I never really liked the idea of gift giving except when I was a child and of course all the day was for us to get gifts. Such is the outlook of a child; selfish, self-centered, and unable to fully understand the feelings of others. But that’s what growing up is all about you see and now, as an atheist, it’s really not a holiday that holds as much significance to me. We haven’t been giving gifts since Mom passed away and with Dad gone, it just doesn’t have the kind of meaning it might have from the past. It’s just not like when I was 5 years old …I don’t watch “Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer” on TV anymore (that was when we only had 4 or 5 TV stations on over-the-air transmissions and you had to have an antenna to watch things… man, a whole ‘nother lifetime ago). I think that being of a much more mature age, the New Year is of more significance to me. 

Now, New Year’s Eve and Day! Those, yeah those days are important. Having been introduced to Zen Buddhism and being the Stoic that I am, these are days that hold a lot of meaning. I always loved the asian outlook where you clean the house to get rid of all the “bad luck” from the year before. In my eyes, it’s a chance to reflect on the past year, look forward to the year to come, and try to plan out what you’d like to accomplish. Now this is true with most people, but it’s especially important to a Stoic as it is a time of deep self-reflection and … AND… self-evaluation. “What should I change? What reasonable goals can I pursue? What do I need to leave behind in the old year and not carry forward into the new one?” are just a few of the questions that come to us. This is one of the only times during the year when I will allow myself to drink… but I keep it in moderation because I love to enjoy being around people at the time. I’m also fortunate to have a great club I belong to and so their NYE soiree is a special treat. I also have been contemplating a great number of changes and pursuits for the coming year in many fields like science, health and fitness, and the fine arts including painting and music. If I can plan wisely, it could be a year like no other in my life. And here we have the wonder of NYE… the promise of things to come. I love having learned that the Romans decided to put the New Year at the beginning of January because of the god Janus. He had two faces, one that faced backwards to the past and one that faced forward to the future. And so should we, metaphorically, so that we reflect on the past and look forward to the future year. And so, my dear readers, have a Happy New Year! May it bring all the wealth, happiness,  and promise with it.