Do You Mind if I Don’t Celebrate Christmas?

Every year I ask myself: Is it okay that I don’t celebrate Christmas? Will everyone think I’m a Grinch or a Scrooge? Do I even care what other people think?

I suppose I do care, or I wouldn’t be writing this. So, as long as I’m writing this, let me speak my truth. I don’t dislike Christmas or have any problem with it being celebrated far and wide. I honor the energy of the season, the birth of the Christ Consciousness, and the blanket of peace I feel out in the world on that sacred day, when the shopping is done and many people are enjoying time with their families.

Wiccan HolisaysBut, I am not a Christian. As a Divine Feminine High Priestess, my holy day comes a few days before Christmas, at Yule or Winter Solstice. And the time leading up to it, when most people are going crazy spending and shopping, is for me a time to come into stillness and receptivity; to clear out what no longer serves me (inside and out); and to vision what’s next in my life. It’s the darkest time of the year in the Northern Hemisphere, including in Maui where I live, and this year it even falls on a new moon.

Giving and receiving… there’s an elephant in the room!

Part of what is complex and difficult for me is the gift giving and receiving. When I was younger and did engage in traditional Christmas, I always wanted to create homemade gifts or give something that I already possessed and wanted to pass on. But that’s really not how it’s supposed to be done, right? It’s mostly about BUYING STUFF. I also find it very confusing being caught in a sense of obligation around gifting. Someone gave me a gift so I feel obligated to give one back. I’m letting that one go this year! To add even more complexity, receiving gifts is not one of my love languages… in fact, it’s at the bottom of my love language list.

Giving stuff that’s not actually “stuff”

When I give a gift, I want it to be from my heart and because I have chosen to give it, not because a custom or tradition dictates it. Gifts can take many forms, and I most adore the intangible kind! I love to gift through cooking and serving food, passing on something that I no longer need but someone else will cherish, and as an introvert, giving my time and presence is a gift. Does that make me a Grinch?

A plethora of December holy days

There are so many different multi-cultural celebrations this time of year… Hanukkah, Asura, St. Nicholas Day, Bodhi Day, Yalda, Kwanzaa, and of course, Yule and Christmas. Whichever one you celebrate, if any, I hope that your holiday season is filled with love, connection, and joy. I know mine always is!

Please comment below if you have a perspective about anything I’ve brought up here… or if you celebrate in a different way, too.

 

 

About Amrita

Amrita Grace is fiercely committed to guiding spirit-led women into their authentic, embodied personal power through Sacred Sexual Awakening & Healing® workshops, retreats, and teacher certification trainings designed by women, for women. She’s the award-winning, international bestselling author of “Reclaiming Aphrodite-The Journey to Sexual Wholeness” and “Dancing with Breast Cancer-The Sacred Feminine Path to Wholeness,” a Certified Spiritual Sexual Educator, an Ordained High Priestess, and Co-Founder of The Sacred Feminine Mystery School.
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4 Responses to Do You Mind if I Don’t Celebrate Christmas?

  1. Julie Mandarino says:

    right on about gifting, sister!
    And thank you for the sacred gift of your friendship.
    much love to you and Apollo, Julie (and Joe)
    p.s. I’d like to hear more about how you celebrate Yule.

    • Amrita says:

      True friendship is a sacred gift, isn’t it? With Yule, I keep the dark and quiet energy close by, going within. I release what no longer serves me from the year, and begin to vision for the next year.

  2. Gaianna says:

    Hello Amrita,
    Yes, a worthy cause, unpicking the web around gifting. So what does it feel like to give from the heart? Well, one of my favorite lines from the Christmas story “Scrooge” is uttered by the Ghost of Christmas Present who says to Scrooge “Come here and know me better man” while sitting in front of an exquisite feast. In fact this is the line and image that inspires my Christmas, “Presence” being the presents and anything that flows from that place, whether it be gifts, food or time, is beauty woven deeply into the tapestry of my being, deepening the roots of joy and lusciousness 🙂

    Happy Holy Days to you and your loved ones too 🙂
    Big huuuugs, Gaianna <3

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