Winterlight Day
Greg Epstein, the humanist chaplain at Harvard University, has recently promoted HumanLight Day, a humanist replacement for Christmas. On the HumanLight website, they say:
HumanLight illuminates Humanism’s positive secular vision. In Western societies, late December is a season of good cheer and a time for gatherings of friends and families. During the winter holiday season, where the word “holiday” has taken on a more secular meaning, many events are observed. This tradition of celebrations, however, is grounded in supernatural religious beliefs that many people in modern society cannot accept. HumanLight presents an alternative reason to celebrate: a Humanist’s vision of a good future. It is a future in which all people can identify with each other, behave with the highest moral standards, and work together toward a happy, just and peaceful world.
While I strongly endorse the idea behind this, I don’t like the name very much. In part, I think that this time of year extends beyond humanity, which is also about the cycle of the seasons and all that that implies. I do like the word “Light”, which is certainly appropriate to the holiday spirit. But if I were to make a suggestion, I would call it Winterlight Day.
This topic is coming a bit late, but perhaps we can mull it over and see if the idea survives until next year.
And so, a belated Happy Winterlight to everyone! We at Sacred River hope that it was filled with warmth, joy, and togetherness.
