No Christ in Christmas

Illustration by Shabaaka Smalls / VOX Staff

By Catherine Frazier / VOX Staff
 
Grace* awakens Christmas morning and reluctantly trudges down stairs to behold an exquisitely lit tree. She has carried out this tradition since she can remember, and, as usual, her parents smile with glee as she begins to open a present.
 
The knots in Grace’s stomach start to swell — not because she’s eager with anticipation, but because she’s sick of carrying on with the charade. Her religious parents don’t know that she is just going through the motions for their sake. They don’t know that she doesn’t believe in a Christian God or his holy son in whose name the holiday is celebrated.
 
Grace isn’t alone in putting on an act at Christmas. Many teens consider themselves disbelieving atheists or unsure agnostics but still celebrate the holiday anyhow. Some are able to enjoy the message of love and togetherness behind the season, while others find that hiding their true feelings fills them with guilt and pain.
 
Differing Views on the Holiday
“I’ve been an atheist since 8th grade, but my parents would be disappointed if I told them,” said Grace, a sophomore at Druid Hills High School. Grace was raised in a strict Catholic home and attended a Catholic girls’ school for eight years before switching to a public high school. She struggles with her secret year-round, but at Christmastime her frustration and guilt grow to epic proportions.
 
Though she likes pleasing her parents, she truly feels she should not have to pretend to follow their beliefs and Christmas traditions. “I have atheist friends who celebrate Christmas and don’t mind it,” Grace said. “But, for me, Christmas is just a lame excuse for people to get together and be forced to be happy. I’m forced to be religious. I’m forced to go to church. Thank God the food is good.”
 
Other teens, such as Grace’s classmate Emily Higgins, have been able to share their disbelief with their families and continue to celebrate the Christmas holiday. “I never began to doubt the Christian faith; I just never began to believe,” Emily said. “I was raised Christian, but as I grew older, I decided that it wasn’t for me. My parents are supportive of my non-religious views.”
 
Emily sees Christmas as a rare chance for people to get together with their loved ones and celebrate their bonds. She believes anyone should be able to celebrate it. “No one should be prevented from celebrating Christmas,” Emily said. “It’s a great time of year that includes good food, presents and time off from work and school. Non-pagans celebrate Halloween every year. So atheists and other non-believers should be allowed to celebrate Christmas.”
 
Santa Claus Overload
During the months of November and December — and sometimes even earlier — we’re bombarded by Christmas messages nearly everywhere we look. Massive and tacky decorations dominate the retail stores.
 
TV commercials and shows overload us on Santa Claus. And radio stations blare age-old tunes and carols that we can’t get out of our heads. For non-believers, the commercialization of Christianity’s biggest holiday often grows to unbearable levels.
 
“One reason I hate Christmas is because the dominance of the holiday is a form of brainwashing,” Grace said. “The messages trick little kids into being religious. I think people should do what they want for the holiday, but not force it on others.”
 
“I practice Christmas because I want to, not because the media tells me to,” Emily said. “Sometimes the dominance of the Christmas message this time of year pushes me further toward non-Christian beliefs.”
Tom Hembre, a fellow sophomore at Druid Hills, considers himself agnostic and celebrates Christmas, but says the media blitz this time of year doesn’t have much of an effect on him. “Christmas has become so commercialized that it’s lost much of its religious value,” Tom said.
 
A Most Stressful Time of the Year
While the commercialization of Christmas holds some sway over how teens react to the holiday, the pressure from parents and friends to fit in can cause non-believers a lot of stress. Feelings they have been able to suppress bubble up during the holiday season, and many teens have a difficult time sharing them with family and peers.
 
“There isn’t enough support for teens who don’t believe in Christmas — both atheists and those who practice other religions,” Emily said. Even though her family knows how she feels about the holiday, it can be a lonely time for her.
 
 Grace said the non-religious ideas behind Christmas are good ones, but that she just wants to be able to own up to her feelings about it and enjoy it for what it is to her. Surprisingly, she predicted that she’ll likely celebrate the holiday when she has a life apart from her parents. “I’ll probably exchange gifts — who doesn’t like gifts? — and eat good food, but I wouldn’t decorate,” Grace said.
 
Meanwhile, Emily is not sure if she’ll celebrate Christmas when she’s an adult. “I will still have the same food and traditions, but I may not call it Christmas,” she said.
 
Tom, Grace and Emily all view Christmas as an important time of the year to spread the word about peace, love and caring for others. They do their best to celebrate or survive it on their own terms.
 
Catherine is a sophomore at Druid Hills.
 
*Name changed for privacy.