Brand New Atheist

This is my first Saint Patrick’s Day as an atheist.

First I’m going to explain what Saint Patrick’s Day means to me now, then I’m going to look it up online.

Before Research: Saint Patrick’s Day is the one day a year that Americans pinch each other for not wearing green. People also like to make things green that normally wouldn’t be. Why does Saint Patrick’s Day exist? I have no idea. Is Saint Patrick’s Day related to some other event? None that I’m aware of. I assume Saint Patrick’s Day is something they celebrate in Ireland and we do it here just for fun.

After Research: Saint Patrick’s Day turns out to be religious. Are you serious? I thought it was about a place or a thing, it never occurred to me that it was an actual person. I was partly correct, it’s celebrated in Ireland. The story of Saint Patrick’s Day isn’t very interesting either. The day was mostly over before I even knew it was Saint Patrick’s Day. And it still doesn’t mean anything to me.

This is my first Charles Darwin Day as an atheist.

Before now, I never gave Darwin much thought

Today is Darwin’s birthday. Born on February 2nd 1809. I look forward to the day that Darwin’s birthday is a respected national holiday.

This is my first New Year’s Day as an atheist.

First I’m going to explain what New Year’s Day means to me now, then I’m going to look it up online.

Before Research: New Year’s Day isn’t actually celebrated I don’t think. It’s the first day of the year.

After Research: New Year’s Day is the first day of the year. But is not a holiday at all.

This is my first Wedding Anniversary as an atheist.

Today is my 16th wedding anniversary. As I watch the video of my wedding I have trouble listening to myself say things that I no longer believe. I hear the preacher sayings that I no longer agree with. Sadly, it takes a bit of the fun out of watching the video. I like the video better without the preacher in it.

If I was married for 16 years under God. Then why am I married now? Because I love my wife and children. Even though the “why” has changed, the reason for staying married hasn’t. Family. I can be married without God. Marriage is actually a state thing now and the ceremony is just tradition and has no affect on the marriage license.

Would I change anything? My answer to that question is always no. Changing the past changes who I am today, I have no need to be someone else.

I always preferred “Man and Wife” vs “Husband and Wife”, I think I just like the way it sounds.

Here’s to 16 more wedding anniversaries as an atheist.

This is my first New Year’s Eve as an atheist.

First I’m going to explain what New Year’s Eve means to me now, then I’m going to look it up online.

Before Research: New Year’s Eve is the one day a year where we celebrate the end of one year and the beginning of the next. It usually means parties to most people. And fireworks.

After Research: New Year’s Eve is only the celebration of the last day of the year.

This is my first Christmas as an atheist.

What does Christmas mean now? A very good question. As a new member of the non-believers, Christmas hasn’t changed.

I never saw Christmas as really having anything to do with God or Jesus. And since that’s the way the majority of the believers feel anyway, Christmas is pretty much the same.

Even the stores are trying to turn it into a generic holiday. I think they are embracing more people rather than trying not to offend anyone. Happy Holidays.

Christmas is a yearly party with family where everyone exchanges gifts. A few people go to a special Christmas service. But the majority don’t.
The staunch believers try to make all of the other believers feel bad because they think since Christmas wouldn’t exist without Jesus. That it’s only fitting you attend.
Most believers want to take the day off and not have to go anywhere, even if it is to celebrate their Lord’s birthday (most believers don’t know Jesus wasn’t born in December).

Even churches themselves bend to the will of the majority. I can imagine a time when the church told it’s congregation there would be service on Christmas day and the congregation knew they had to attend. But the church has lost it’s power. Churches merely exist at the hands of a few generous tithers. I think maybe that would change if their God presented himself or gave some real proof of his existence, but even believers have learned that God has little to do with the world today. There’s no penalty here on Earth.

One small thing is different for me. For the first time in my life I don’t want to hear Christmas music. My girls started playing Christmas music before Thanksgiving.
I’m not really sure what it is, but I think most Christmas songs have lost their meaning for me.

This is my first Thanksgiving as an atheist.

First I’m going to explain what Thanksgiving means to me now, then I’m going to look it up online.

Before Research: Thanksgiving is the one day a year where we over eat. And we do it because pilgrims landed in America and traded stuff with Indians. Why does Thanksgiving exist? Celebration of Europeans making it to America in some small ships. Is Thanksgiving related to some other event? None that I’m aware of. I look at Thanksgiving as nothing more than an excuse for companies to market stuff you wouldn’t normally eat. I get Thanksgiving and Columbus Day mixed up.

After Research: Thanksgiving turns out to be a Thanksgiving to God. Are you serious? It can’t just be about some people doing something. Thanksgiving is a day that means many different things to many people. Each country has it’s own Thanksgiving for one reason or another. Thanksgiving is extremely unimportant to me. If it wasn’t a national holiday, it would pass by without me even knowing. Kinda like Saint Patrick’s Day.

This is my first funeral as an atheist.

I have to limit what I can say here to remain respectful. Seeing all of these Catholic rituals from the eyes of an atheist was an interesting experience.

The rituals must be important to someone but they seemed very silly. At one point a priest was waiving a smoking pot thingy and every time it reached a forward apex a car alarm sounded, it was quite humorous.

This is my first Veterans Day as an atheist.

First I’m going to explain what Veterans Day means to me now, then I’m going to look it up online.

Before Research: Veterans Day is the one day a year that we celebrate war veterans. Which war? I have no idea, I assume all wars.

After Research: Veterans Day is both a federal holiday and a state holiday in all states, it is celebrated on the same day as Armistice Day or Remembrance Day in other parts of the world, falling on November 11, the anniversary of the signing of the Armistice that ended World War I. So I was mostly right, but I had no idea why it was on this day. Another holiday without religious meaning, woohoo.

This is my first Halloween as an atheist.

First I’m going to explain what Halloween means to me now, then I’m going to look it up online.

Before Research: Halloween is the one day a year that children dress up and visit the neighbors for treats. It seems to have no relevance to adults. Why does Halloween exist? I have no idea. Is Halloween related to some other event? None that I’m aware of. I look at Halloween and Easter as very similar. Kids gets candy. Halloween has never meant more than “kids and candy” to me.

After Research: Halloween turns out to be religious related. Shocker! I was actually surprised. I know two men who didn’t and don’t let there kids dress up and get candy on Halloween, because it’s evil. The reality is, even the religious people can’t agree on how to handle Halloween. Why? Because it has a dozen meanings. And not all of them are even religious.

So those of you keeping your kids from having fun on Halloween because of your preconceived notions of it’s evil origins, lighten up. Your kids only believe in God because you tell them to. So tell them Halloween is about dressing up and having fun. They will believe you. Because as far as the rest of the population is concerned, that’s all it means to them.