Atheist Thanksgiving 2017

Happy Thanksgiving! I really enjoy this holiday, but then I love pretty much any holiday, party, or excuse to get together with people, eat, drink and be merry and basically just enjoy myself. I also like organizing the party, cooking, decorating, and all that goes along with it. I don't even mind the clean up - a messy house to me says people had a good time.

Right now, I feel very lucky to be one of those people with a comfortable house to host such gatherings no matter what the season. We have a wonderful backyard for nice weather and we have plenty of places indoors when the weather is not so nice. We can build a fire for extra coziness.

I have read in the past about Christians who think that atheists shouldn't celebrate Thanksgiving because they have no one (i.e. a deity) to thank. Ours is an empty, meaningless life in which we pass the time in sorrow and hopelessness. Thanksgiving to them is a religious holiday.

First off, fine, I am not the person to dictate how people think of their holidays and what they choose to do with them as long as they are respecting others. If they want their birthday to be the day they thank the baby Jesus for giving them life or their wedding anniversary to be the day they thank the holy spirit for helping them choose a life partner, so be it. Who am I to tell them what they should think about the day of their birth or start of their marriage?

What is disheartening is that these particular Christians are so narrow in their thinking, so unreflective and unempathetic about others, they can't understand that people who are not them have other ideas about their lives that do not affect in the least the Christian in question.

Even holidays that are blatantly Christian have components that non-Christians can share. Christmas is largely about exchanging gifts and eating too much with friends and family. Watch any Christmas special, and it will largely be devoid of Jesus. The same can be said of Easter, which, for lots of people, is about eating chocolate in various shapes, dressing in nice clothes and eating a special meal with family. It is, of course, the main Christian holiday, the one that shapes theology, but a secular person does not need to incorporate elements of Jesus torture and death to celebrate the day.

Thanksgiving has no such necessary component. It is not liturgically mandated, and is a federal holiday in the US. Sure, religious groups often have days of prayer thanking their deity, but that doesn't mean it is required.

For me, Thanksgiving is a time to reflect on the various good people, events, and things in my life. It is a time to be appreciative to people who make my life better in some way. It is a time to slow down and take time to be with people, laugh, share stories, get away from the stress and worry.

This year, while there are challenges I face, there are many things to be thankful for. Despite what some uninformed Christians may imagine, I have a pretty full life with a job that brings me satisfaction in addition to paying the bills, fulfilling hobbies, and wonderful people. No supernatural required. So today, I decided to list some things I am thankful for, thankful to others or to no one and nothing in particular, just happy that some things exist.

First off, people: a supportive husband that is also a friend; a wonderful friend group with whom to talk about work, politics, religion and whatever else is going on, to travel with and go out dining with; friends in various parts of the country and world to visit from time to time and in the meantime keep up with on social media, phone or text; good neighbors who chat for a few minutes on the street or have a party for a holiday; good colleagues we can count on; students who come to class and try to do the work and try to make it fun. There are lots of good people in my life that have made me laugh, shared good and bad times, and given me great memories.

I am thankful for cats. My goofy cats are happy to greet every day and like to share the warmth and comfort of the bed and couch.

I am thankful to live in a nice home in a good neighborhood with all the comforts I can want. It can be a source of distress when work needs doing, but mostly it is a nice place to spend time alone or with others, to host parties or just sit in quiet conversation with a glass of wine.

I am thankful to have good healthcare to take care of myself, enough money to put food on the table and keep the heat on, and a car to take me where I need to go.

I am thankful for travel and new experiences in new places. I love exploring and learning about other cultures.

I am thankful for books and blogs and learning in general.

I am thankful for moments of quiet to reflect and refresh. I am thankful for other moments of activity that keep me going forward.

I am thankful for plants, the changing of seasons, the infinite wonder of the world and the universe. I love learning about it, watching it change in time and contemplating what it all means.

There are so many things to be thankful of in this world. And it is enough.