Humanists UK

Compassion, community, and Christmas: a humanist perspective

Long before Christianity, humans across Europe gathered together at the darkest and coldest time of the year to feast and appreciate each other’s company. For most people in United Kingdom, Christmas is about enjoying food and drink, giving presents, and appreciating the one life we have with the people we love. No time of year better sums up the values and qualities that humanists hold most dear. Here, several famous humanists share what Christmas means to them.

Stephen Fry

Do you celebrate Christmas as a humanist?

Hell yes – I’m all for pagan winter feasts and weird syncretic mashups: humanists are not party-pooping puritans after all… I always listen to the Festival of Carols from King’s too. I mean, I love Greek myths without believing in them, and I’m allowed to enjoy beautiful music in beautiful settings without swallowing the whole incarnation myth. I list all the TV channels I’m appearing on, in some dumb programme or elderly repeat, and avoid them. A lot of cooking too!

What does this time of year mean to you?

Food, friends, frolic, gaiety, and games.

Dan Snow

Do you celebrate Christmas as a humanist?

Of course I do. Humans have been gathering at this time of year, partying, eating too much for millennia. Who am I to stand against 4000 years of history? It means a slowing of the pace. A focus on the family. The end of a frenetic autumn. A pause for celebration, indulgence, contemplation. A pause from email and messages. A reset.

What do you do on the day?

We’re very innovative. We open presents, eat a lot, and argue about the best recipe for roast potatoes, drink, remember Christmases past, and phone distant loved ones.

[humanists.uk]