PICK OF THE WEEK
Sydney Morning Herald
Saturday December 12, 2009
Reviews by Bruce ElderTHE ATHEIST'S GUIDE TO CHRISTMASEdited by Ariane SherineFriday Books, 340pp, $29.99Don't be fooled by the title. Sure, this book includes a piece by the well-known atheist Richard Dawkins but it is really a collection of witty essays by British and Irish comedians, journalists and commentators. Most will be unfamiliar to Australian readers but they include high-profile people such as Simon Singh (science writer and BBC documentary maker), Ed Byrne (Irish stand-up comedian), A.C. Grayling (philosopher) and Zoe Margolis (writer and blogger).The book's aim was to bring 42 writers together (42 being the answer to life, the universe and everything according to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy), have them write about their personal Christmas and Christian experiences and raise money for the Terrence Higgins Trust, a Britain-based HIV and sexual health charity.You know that this is a light-hearted collection of pieces on Christmas rather than a spray against Christianity when you read observations such as: "As you get older there are three things you observe: policemen are getting younger. Teenage girls are dressing more like prostitutes. And Christmas comes earlier every year."Inevitably there are standout pieces. Byrne's It's Beginning to Feel a Lot Like Christmas is a hilarious piece of writing about the ambiguous joys of the festive season. Margolis's Hark the Herald Villagers Sing is a melancholy tale of an aspiring six-year-old who wants to be Mary but ends up being "a villager" in the school's nativity play. Phil Plait (a professional astronomer), in the gentlest way possible, explains how the story of the wise men following the star from the East has no basis in fact. But the collection's masterpiece is A.C. Grayling's A Happy Christmas, in which all of the customs of Christmas are explained in terms of their earlier, pagan celebrations. Did you know, for example, that December 25 was the end of a week-long festival the Romans called Saturnalia when, as Lucian wrote, "Everything serious is forbidden; no business is allowed." Sounds like the modern Australian Christmas, doesn't it?
© 2009 Sydney Morning Herald
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