Why HumanLight?
Over the last few years, a number of criticisms and challenges to HumanLight have appeared on the internet. We have summarized them into a few categories, and here offer our responses.
HumanLight celebrations don't sound like any fun.
Some have commented, after reading about HumanLight celebrations that have taken place in the past, that they would never want to attend one. For them, an event with speakers, discussions, and activities for children are "hokey" or "like a business convention" etc. We would respond by first noting that everyone, based on their personal preferences and situation in life, has a different notion of what constitutes a good time. The types of parties that may be enticing for adolescents and young adults would probably be out of the question for parents with young children and unpleasant for older adults. Many who have been at HumanLight celebrations with speakers and activities for kids have loved them. Nevertheless, the way we have celebrated in the past and the suggestions on the web are just options. If you have a better way to celebrate, in a large group or small, then we encourage you to do so and to let us know what you did and how well it worked out.
If we celebrate HumanLight, there is a danger that we will become too much like a religion ourselves.
There are many good and important things that religions do for their adherents. Some of these things are as basic to human needs as comforting the bereaved or providing a social setting for making friends. We do not think that Humanists should shy away from valuable activities because those activities in some way resemble religious practices. A regularly-scheduled holiday may seem too ritualistic to some, but having an event to look forward to every year can play a significant role in the life of a family or individual. Considering that the event honors free thought and has no mandatory prescriptions, we feel that the risk of becoming rigid and stultified is outweighed by the benefits associated with HumanLight celebrations.
To say that we're celebrating reason seems arrogant because it implies that other people don't value reason.
HumanLight honors a range of values, including reason, compassion, and hope. These are the values that Humanists generally hold most dear. We do not mean to imply that others don't share these values at all. Nevertheless, Humanists are distinguished by the priority we give these values over others, such as faith or tradition. We prefer that the term "light" in HumanLight be understood in the sense of the expression "lighting up one's life." A life can be lit up by any of a variety of good acts that people can do.
Why not just celebrate Christmas?
Christmas is a holiday by and for Christians, and it is not our purpose to try to turn it into something else. In addition, there is intellectual and emotional clarity in celebrating HumanLight, especially for children who may be confused by the manifold messages about Christmas they receive outside the home.
Why not just have a big party?
Just having a big party doesn't supply the educational and public awareness benefits that a HumanLight celebration can bring. HumanLight affords an opportunity to explain our deepest values in a positive way to our children, our relatives, our friends, and the general public. Also, without the framework that HumanLight provides, it is much less likely that Humanists would get together to have a party.
Why have a celebration at this time of year at all?
The December holiday season has become structurally embedded in Western culture. When people relate to one another during this time of the year, it is generally assumed that everyone is celebrating Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or some other holiday. HumanLight thus allows Humanists to participate harmoniously in this important aspect of the culture, helping us be and express who we are in a positive way. Also, along with the social and educational benefits discussed in the responses to other questions, HumanLight addresses the emotional needs that some scientists identify as the historical roots of winter holidays: a joyous and optimistic break from the cold, darkness, and gloominess of winter.
Manufactured holidays are sterile and contrived.
One simple reply to this point is that HumanLight does not seem sterile or contrived to many of us who find it extremely emotional and meaningful. That people will have different aesthetic reactions to the same event is natural and to be expected. Therefore, some people will have a negative reaction to a manufactured holiday and some people will think it is OK and even desirable that it be manufactured. Presumably, the alternative to manufacturing a December holiday for Humanists is for a significant historical event or development to occur that would form a plausible basis for such a holiday. Of course, this may never happen.
Why are the HumanLight name and logo copyrighted?
HumanLight was conceived and developed as a labor of love by a group of people who desire to see Humanism and Humanists flourish. The name and logo were copyrighted in order to preserve them for use by Humanists. There was never any intention to exclude other logos or artistic contributions to the holiday, nor to reserve marketing rights for purposes of financial gain. In fact, to this point in time, those who have worked to develop and publicize HumanLight have experienced only monetary losses. Future profits, if any, from the sale of merchandise with the HumanLight logo will be used only toward the further advancement of HumanLight itself.
The idea of a Humanist gathering is insulating and separatist.
One of the objectives of HumanLight is to help Humanists share a holiday spirit with family, friends, and the larger community without suppressing their own identity. It has been critical to the originators of HumanLight that the holiday truly reflects the inclusive, caring, compassionate ideals of Humanism. We strongly feel that criticism or rejection of religion or religious people has no place in a HumanLight celebration, and that a religious friend or relative should not be unwelcome or uncomfortable at a HumanLight event.
I like the idea for the holiday, but "HumanLight" is an awful name.
When coming up with a new name for an event, you have to get a lot of meaning into a very small number of syllables. The problem is made much more difficult because many potential words or components (like "Universal") are already used in other names. We did consider "HumanHope" and other alternatives, but we liked HumanLight better. Although it may be possible for someone to generate a name in some sense superior to HumanLight, changing it now would be difficult and cause confusion. One further note: We have heard the comment that the capitalization of the "L" in HumanLight could only have come from the mentality of a marketing consultant. In fact, none of the people involved in the creation of HumanLight have any marketing background. However, one did have a professional software programming background. One common practice in selecting variable and file names in computer programs is to capitalize the first letter of each word in a compound name for readability. For example, DateOfOrigin is easier to read than dateoforigin.
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