Maybe it's because I was raised Orthodox Jewish, and maybe it's because I read both Testaments and the Koran in college, and maybe it's because my Medieval History minor was based on researching the Children's Crusades, and maybe it's because I lived in a Buddhist country for almost three years followed by Israel for half a year. Or maybe it's because I'm just an old curmudgeon. Bottom line is I hate Christmas, can't stand Jesus music, and I'd rather have my fingernails pulled out one by one while being waterboarded by a sadistic Abu Ghraib guard with a dog leash and a strap-on than go to a "holiday" party. That includes allegedly multi-denominational/non-denominational parties because, after all, we atheists don't have holy days, hence no celebration thereof.

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( The intellectual argument )

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Playboy used to run the incomparable Gahan Wilson's cartoons full-page, full-color. One of my favorites from, I think, the 60's showed a crowd of people dressed in hooded robes worshipping a sign which said "Nothing". A person not dressed for worship is talking to one of the robed ones, and the caption is "Is Nothing sacred?"

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