Christmas Traditions

 As an atheist, my Christmas isn't about the birth of Christ - it's about tradition.  For me, since childhood, Christmas has always just been about being with family and celebrating the gift of each other.  Years ago, we all squeezed into my grandmother's living room and proceeded to open a giant pile of gifts.  As a kid, this was the coolest thing ever.  I mean, really - what kid doesn't want to be surrounded by wrapping paper and toys?  Today, I take so much more joy in just having a relaxing day to be with my family.  With or without a god in my life, Christmas has always been an important tradition for me and my family. 

 

Some people would probably say it's a disrespectful way to celebrate Christmas... that it's not ok to call my celebration "Christmas" because Christmas is a religous holiday.  They are probably right to some degree.  I have attempted to come up with other names for it, but it doesn't seem to be catching on.  Of course, if that's really the case, we should probably stop calling people in a legal union "married" since that is a religous concept as well.  It's hard to know where to draw the line. 

More recently, Christmas Eve has become a more major tradition among my immediate family.  I like to call it "Seafood Feast Day".  It's the day I look forward to in the way many people get excited about Thanksgiving.  To me, turkey is dog food - Christmas Eve / Seafood Feast Day is when the truly awesome food hits the table and my mouth waters.       

Oh, yeah - that's totally a pitcher of butter right there.

This year, my brother rocked our socks by getting us lobster tails.  Did I ever mention that my brother is the coolest guy I know?  Well, he is... and not because he bought us lobster tails.  

There was also shrimp scampi and king crab legs.  I meant to get more pictures, but I was kinda busy stuffing my face.  Nobody leaves the table hungry on this day, that's for sure. 

The best thing about Seafood Feast Day is that we hang out at my Mom and Dad's house for the rest of the evening and exchange gifts, play games, and laugh until we can't breathe (usually as a result of one of my brother's perfectly timed jokes).  At one point during a rousing game of "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?" my Mom was laughing so hard I was trying to remember whether or not I knew CPR.

I hope everybody enjoyed (or will enjoy) their own holiday traditions this month.