Spark your own joy
An atheist shares thoughts on having a joyful Christmas
- by Dustin Woods
Visionary Columnist
Christmas is my favorite time of year, and I’m an atheist. But I’m just not feeling it this year. Perhaps it’s all those “Christians” who have spent so much time the rest of the year taking things away from others.
How does one spread cheer to the masses when half of them are actively spreading terror? Here’s how!
Start with yourself. Find the things that bring you joy and surround yourself with them. Think of the Marie Kondo method of decluttering your house, where you only keep things if they “spark joy,” and apply it to your efforts at merriment this holiday season. For me, that means decorating the house with as many lights as possible with minimal effort and calling that good. Then I’m making sure to spend time with only those people who I know wouldn’t turn me in if being gay becomes illegal!
If you are having a tough time with your loved one’s political position aligning with your mental image of who they are and the level of morality you used to ascribe to them, I would say that you should take a break from performing those mental gymnastics. Maybe even stop altogether and get your mind wrapped around living very closely with danger.
Like living with an armed bomb, our rights as 2SLGBTQ+ members of society exist within a fragile legal framework where an explosive amount of potential energy is arrayed against us just waiting to be unleashed.
We all deserve to have a season of joy, and if that means making sure that you are surrounded only by those people who bring you joy, then so be it. We have grown so much as a society that we don’t even require little kids to hug their creepy relatives if they are feeling uncomfortable! Consent is a must, and just because you have a giant family doesn’t mean you have to consent to attending this year’s holiday celebrations. I think we can give our right-wing relatives a reprieve for the rest of the year.
But if you must attend a family holiday party, or if you’re as mischievous as I am and want to stir the pot, try going dressed as an ICE agent with your face fully covered (we know how much that crowd loves masks). You could even make it a goal to find the humans in the Nativity scene and “deport” them. It might be a realization point for your relatives that your actions are as ridiculous as those taken by the government on our behalf.
Love used as an equal and opposite reaction to hate is exhausting when the hate comes in hot and heavy, as it has lately. We should all consider focusing on recharging our own civic batteries at this year’s end in any way we can.
It’s going to take effort on the part of everyone who cares about American-style democracy next year to keep us from moving further into fascism. Don’t let Christmas dinner with your drunk uncle be the reason you tap out politically. Maybe just ghost the family this year?
The Gayly online. 12/16/25 @ 10:26 a.m. CST.