Some of us freethinkers still enjoy celebrating the holidays and giving gifts.  After-all, Christmas is just a mishmosh of ancient traditions.  In fact, the only contributions of Christianity are it’s name (Christ Mass) and Santa Clause; Saint Nicholas being the patron saint of children, giving them gifts every December 6th.

Evergreen and holly trees were important in German festivals because they remained green in the winter. The Yule Log comes from the Norse God Yolnir. Hanging decorations on a tree was in honor of Yolnir’s story, who hung himself on a tree and killed himself with a spear. It was Queen Victoria, who came from a German Family, that popularized the tradition of an evergreen tree among English Families.  Although winter festivities have been part of many cultures, the specific date of December 25th was declared Natalis Solis Invicti - the Birth of the Invincible Sun - by a Pagan emperor in 274 CE. Prior to that, the day was associated with a secular celebration of the Winter Solstice. It wasn’t a stretch for religions to turn the celebration of the Sun, into that of the Son of their God (Christianity wasn’t the first to do this; see Jermey’s article The Familiar History of Jesus).

Many of us falling under the definition of a Bright can celebrate December 25th with confidence.  It’s a tradition spanning many cultures, and it is a great time to be with family and bring light to short winter days.

Here are a few ideas of how to shop for the freethinkers on your list:

Support a freethinking group. Give the gift of a membership to a group such as the Freedom From Religion Foundation, Atheist Alliance International, or donate to a Secular Student Alliance at your local college. Or purchase t-shirts, books and other swag from the website of a particular group to support their cause.

A Magazine Subscription. Many groups have magazines that you can subscribe to, such as the Council for Secular Humanism’s Free Inquiry and Skeptical Inquirer. The Skeptics Society has Skeptic Magazine. Publications that focus on science news, making stories understandable and entertaining, are great gifts; Discover Magazine and Scientific American are stellar publications.

Freethinking Swag. Here are a few of my favorite vendors:

  • MadeWithMolecules.com: Jewelry, shaped like specific molecules, representing chocolate, red wine, and caffeine.
  • WearScience.com: I particularly like their Teach the Controversy line of t-shirts.
  • Evolvefish.com: A variety of mugs, shirts, buttons, bumper stickers, and nick-knacks. It’s not the best produced website, but they have lots of low cost items that would make great stocking stuffers.
  • ThinkGeek.com: This is more of a science centered site. They have a ton of original products that will surely entertain and amuse. From laser pointers that reach clouds and Japanese toys using nano technology to evolution play sets and Einstein action figures.
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