HumanLight is the Humanist counterpart to Christmas and other winter holidays. It is celebrated on December 23. Like Kwanzaa, HumanLight is a modern invention, created to provide Humanists and other nontheists with a non-religious counterpart to popular seasonal celebrations. It was established by the New Jersey Humanist Network in 2001.
Humanists have cast HumanLight as a celebration of "a Humanist's vision of a good future." They celebrate a positive approach to the coming new year, generally through the lens of Humanist (and particularly secular humanist) philosophy--secular as opposed to religious, and with an emphasis on reason and rationality. The December 23 date allows HumanLight to connect itself to the December holiday season without imposing itself over them, since many Humanists also celebrate other winter holidays.
HumanLight began with a single event in Verona, New Jersey, 2001. Since then, HumanLight has experienced much growth; in 2004, there were two dozen American events listed on the holiday's homepage, mostly on the East Coast and in the Midwest.
Organized HumanLight celebrations since its founding in 2001 have included guest speakers, candle-lighting ceremonies, musical and dramatic performances, dinners, dancing, and video presentations. As HumanLight seems designed to resist ritual or tradition, celebrations can vary from event to event or year to year. There are as yet no evident home or family traditions, as there are with Christmas or other winter holidays.
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