Why not just celebrate the Winter Solstice?
This is a question often asked by Humanists hearing about HumanLight for the first time. HumanLight was conceived as an expression of specifically humanist ideals and sentiments: the positive vision of a peaceful, ethical, enlightened and happy world that we, as humans, can bring about without reliance on concepts of supernatural entities. HumanLight is an avenue through which we can wish others well during this season without denying, ignoring, or confusing our identities as Humanists. The Winter Solstice, on the other hand, does not intrinsically carry any of these meanings. It is a natural event that can be appreciated without any notion of humanism. Those who are not Humanists can and do recognize its occurance. In particular, the Winter Solstice is an event celebrated by and associated in many minds with ancient religious traditions. Thus, Humanists celebrating the event run the risk of being confused with and categorized alongside of god-worshipping people. We can try to explain
