I was raised Catholic. Despite not being Catholic at all anymore, the culture of Catholicism still runs in my family. In the back of my head, I'm always aware of when Lent and Advent begin. I buy an advent calendar for my kiddo (the one where you open the little windows and there's a treat inside each day until Christmas) and sometimes, just for fun or as a personal goal, I give up something for Lent still -- not for the religion at all, but just for the tradition. On Shrove tuesday, I often make pancakes. It's just fun, and just another tradition. Some fridays, I like to eat fish, because that's just how I was raised, mostly by my grandparents. I admit I still enjoy some religious music, especially the old hymns, or Bach's Mass, or Handel's Messiah. Again, it's just beautiful music to me. So, yeah. 'Culture/tradition', but not religion.
I personally think it's valuable, to hold onto a few harmless traditions here and there. I enjoy them, they're familiar to me, I see nothing wrong with them.
How about you folks? Are there any traditions you still kind of hang onto, just for the sake of tradition? :)
former Catholic here, I actually tried to be a cultural Catholic, but couldn't stand the over-exposure to Catholic culture.....I like some of the music, LOVE the artwork, and appreciate their view of beauty. BUT I was fortunate in a way, although I was baptized, first communion, my family was not AT ALL concerned with going to church so it was relatively easy to give up. I aslo couldn't be Catholic anymore because I cannot believe the core tenets of the faith. Virgin Birth? Yeah right! Resurrection? Impossible!! *sigh* However, for the sake of tradition, and for my family's sake, I had our first child baptized and the second one will be in a couple of months, then "thy will be DONE"
I used to go to church on easter for resurrection with my parents. Just for half an hour for midnight First time I didnt go when my mother died, I just wasnt in the mood. From then on, I stopped that.
I'm an ex-Catholic as well, but I don't keep up with any of the traditions. I go and visit my family for Christmas and Easter, but that is about it.
I was never religious, and neither was my immediate family, but we borrowed religious traditions such as Christmas and Easter and gave them our own twist, just as Christianity did when they borrowed those from other older traditions. But nowadays we don't really celebrate even much of a secular Christmas or Easter anymore.
I still like trees, lights and gift giving at christmas. I also like thanksgiving...and well basically any other holiday where almost everyone has off work and you get together to have a party. I really don't care if the origins of the holiday are religious since almost every holiday (from "holy day") has religious roots...even (what seems to be) the atheist favorite; halloween.
Yes, almost forgot... Thanks everyone!! :) We celebrate religious holidays in a secular fashion.
Quote from: Whitney on April 02, 2012, 02:09:32 AM
I still like trees, lights and gift giving at christmas. I also like thanksgiving...and well basically any other holiday where almost everyone has off work and you get together to have a party. I really don't care if the origins of the holiday are religious since almost every holiday (from "holy day") has religious roots...even (what seems to be) the atheist favorite; halloween.
I love the gift giving, present wrapping, lights and greeting cards of Xmas as well tho I'm not really sure if that falls under religious tradition, since I leave the religious part out. I've never considered Thanksgiving a Xtian holiday, it's always seemed to me a national holiday.
I don't do anything... :(
When was thanksgiving religious?
I dont celebrate it out of respect to the native people of this country.
Thanks for the lies and slaughter of our people? No, thank you.
We don't do religious holidays at our house, but I think we more than make up for it by celebrating the religious holidays at our families' houses. Hubby's family is Jewish, so we do most of the Jewish holidays with them (there are lots!) and my family is Christian so we do Christmas and Easter with them as well. In our house, we also celebrate Solstice, Thanksgiving, and Halloween, which may have religious roots but are far enough removed from them that it doesn't feel weird to me. So yeah, we are pretty much chock-a-block with holidays around here. I don't care; I think one of the benefits of not following a dogmatic belief system is not having to be dogmatic. :)
Quote from: Sweetdeath on April 02, 2012, 03:43:56 AM
When was thanksgiving religious?
Not necessarily a religious holiday but...
Thanksgiving - United States (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thanksgiving_(United_States))
.
Hmm... Let's see... I do not really do christmas when alone, I have no idea what easter is all about, except there was something about eggs, so I suppose I shall have an omelette one of these days. Beyond that..? Nothing.
To rephrase, I may "observe" some silly tradition while with family or close friends, but for and by myself..? Screw 'em all.
My friends call Easter "zombie jesus day" so I guess it has something to do with ressurection. :/
I used to attend Christmas mass every year with my husband's great aunt, until she died. It meant a lot to her, and from an athropological stand point, I found the ceremonies and rituals interesting. My husband was raised in a mostly non-practicing Catholic family, but he still loves Christmas traditions, like the tree and traditional Christmas meals, so I try to indulge those things since I think they're relatively harmless. He wasn't so keen when I suggested a Festivus pole. :D
On the rare occasions I've gone to graveyards to visit the resting places of family members, I've been known to sit by the grave and talk to them as if they are present. I know they aren't, and I know they can't hear me, but I still find it comforting to talk to their bones as if they can.
Some religious symbols and imagery are aesthetically pleasing-I have crosses and ankhs, etc.. that I hang up, more because I like looking at them than anything else.
ETA: I still dress up for Halloween and make turkey on Thanksgiving, so I suppose I acknowledge most holidays in some kind of secular fashion.
I pretty much follow Amicales thoughts as in her OP.
The thing is, in the UK anyway, our entire cultural heritage is interwoven with a Christian inspired calendar of events. If we remove all that goes with Christianity we are left with a pretty sterile cultural calendar. So I happily celebrate the traditional festivals because its fun and because I enjoy honouring my heritage. I'm not gonna throw the proverbial baby out with the dishwasher when I shun religion.
I've mentioned before in a similar topic that I have a lovely Indian couple as neighbours who are loosely Hindu. Along with their own, they often play along with traditional Christian festivals with gusto. When I asked them once 'why?', they say 'because its fun!'. And why the hell not?! They are wonderfully inclusive when it comes to their Hindu festivals too - we are always invited over and enjoy joining them in celebrating their traditions, just as they do ours. It's not about god, its about giving our own little lives a bit of fun and sparkle.