HumanLight is a Humanist holiday created to provide a specifically Humanist celebration during the so-called western world's holiday season. The intended focus of the holiday is on the "positive, secular human values of reason, compassion, humanity and hope". Sadly, this makes it somewhat exclusionary, because many featherless bipeds who are ostensibly members of Homo sapiens lack the ability to feel compassion and many others, while arguably capable of feeling something akin to compassion are seemingly constitutionally incapable of acting upon any such feelings that they may have. For example, psychopaths, sociopaths, and many (most?) corporatists. Perhaps those persons could Join Henry Kissinger in celebrating Nixon's notorious bombing of the civilian population of Hanoi from December 18th to December 29th and exulting over the 1,600 pointless civilian deaths caused by this petulant temper tantrum. I dunno.

Beyond that, other sources put a slightly different focus on it. For instance, checkiday.com tells us that:

Humanists believe in morality, tolerance, freedom, critical reason, and science, but don't believe in gods, supernatural events, and miracles. The humanist values, ideals, and ideas of tolerance, compassion, empathy, honesty, free inquiry, reason, and rationality are celebrated and promoted with HumanLight, a holiday that embraces the conviction that humans can create a peaceful, ethical, and enlightened world without any guidance from deities and supernatural entities. The holiday was given its name because it emphasizes humanity instead of the supernatural, and it looks to the "light of reason." It takes place on December 23, during the winter holiday season, and is viewed as an alternative holiday to Christmas and other nearby holidays.

On this day in history:

1815 – Jane Austen's "Emma" was published

1913 – The Federal Reserve Act was signed into law

1919 – Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act 1919 became law in Britain

1947 – The first demonstration of the transistor

1954 – The first successful kidney transplant took place

1968 – The crew of the U.S. spy ship Pueblo were released

1986 – Voyager lander after completing the world's first non-stop, non-refueled flight around the world.

2002 – A Mig 25 shot down a US Predator drone maintaining the US' illegal no-fly zone in Iraq. This was the first known combat between an airplane and a drone.

Some people who were born on this day:

I don't believe that jazz will ever really die. It's a nice way to express yourself.

~~ Chet Baker

1689 – Joseph Bodin de Boismortier, composer
1745 – John Jay, abolitionist, jurist, author, politician
1912 – Anna J. Harrison, chemist and academic
1926 – Harold Dorman, singer and songwriter
1929 – Chet Baker, singer, trumpet and flugelhorn player
1935 – Johnny Kidd, singer and songwriter
1935 – Esther Phillips, singer
1940 – Jorma Kaukonen, singer, songwriter, and guitarist
1940 – Eugene Record, singer and songwriter
1941 – Tim Hardin, singer, songwriter, and musician
1946 – Robbie Dupree, singer and songwriter
1948 – Jim Ferguson, guitarist, composer, and journalist
1949 – Adrian Belew, singer, songwriter, and guitarist
1951 – Anthony Phillips, guitarist and songwriter
1955 – Grace Knight, singer and songwriter
1964 – Eddie Vedder, "singer", songwriter and guitarist
1975 – Lady Starlight, singer and songwriter
1977 – Tore Johansen, trumpeter and composer

Some people who died on this day:

The music field was the first to break down racial barriers, because in order to play together, you have to love the people you are playing with, and if you have any racial inhibitions, you wouldn't be able to do that.

~~ Oscar Peterson

2007 – Oscar Peterson, pianist and composer
2013 – Yusef Lateef, saxophonist and composer
2013 – Ricky Lawson, drummer and composer

Some Holidays, Holy Days, Festivals, Feast Days, Days of Recognition, and such:

Festivus
HumanLight -- a humanist holiday; Who Knew??
*
Night of the Radishes (Oaxaca City, Mexico)
National Pfeffernüsse Day (US)

- NB: Some state that this relates to "Secular Humanism", it does not, Secular Humanism is redundant

Today's Tunes

Joseph Bodin de Boismortier

Harold Dorman

Chet Baker

Johnny Kidd

Esther Phillips

Jorma Kaukonen

Eugene Record

Tim Hardin

Robbie Dupree

Jim Ferguson

Adrian Belew

Anthony Phillips

Oscar Peterson

Yusef Lateef

Ricky Lawson

Ok, it's an open thread, so it's up to you folks now. So what's on your mind?

Cross posted from http://caucus99percent.com

Open Thread, Human Light, The FED, The Transistor, Chet Baker, Johnny Kidd, Esther Phillips, Jorma Kaukonen, Oscar Peterson, Yusef Lateef