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On Tuesday night the Saskatoon Secular Family Network is getting together (kids + parents) to commemorate the month of December, and I’m at a loss as to what kind of activities we should do to mark the holiday season.  Our Secular Parenting group’s aim isn’t to be anti-theistic, so there won’t be any baby Jesus piñatas to hit — but I also don’t want to be so accommodating of religion that I inadvertently condone religious myth as legitimate.

Come to think of it, it’s a tenuous line to walk as a parent who wants to raise her kid as a freethinker.  I don’t see my aim is to raise her as an “atheist.” I’m not a fan of dogma in any form, whether it’s of a religious stripe or otherwise.  I do want my little girl to have a working knowledge of the world’s religions — but there’s always a part of me who’s afraid that religion’s allure may prove to be too enticing and one day she’ll get sucked into a vortex of religious ideology.

Which brings me back to some of the dilemma I face in planning Tuesday night’s activities.  Part of me thought it would be interesting to have a sampling of all the different ways humanity commemorates December — I have a dreidel we could play with, and we could discuss Hanukkah; I’ve got a couple nativity sets the kids could look at; and I’ve even got a Kwanzaa book we could read.   But there’s another part of me who thinks it would be better to just focus completely on the secular components of the season — talking about the Winter Solstice (the science and metaphorical response to the longer, darker days), and talk about the giving/sharing of families during the holidays (that night we’re collecting donations for the local crisis nursery).

What do you think?  I’m hoping to get some ideas from parents of what you do with your kiddos during December, or anyone else who does something this month to commemorate the season we’re in.  Help?