Editing Secular humanism (section)

==Humanist celebrations==
Humanism, as a term which describes a person's non-religious views, comes with no obligation to celebrate or revere specific days in the year as a religion would. As a result, individual humanists choose of their own accord whether to take part in prevailing national holidays where they live. For example, humanists in Europe and North America typically celebrate holidays, such as [[Christmas]], but as secular holidays rather than Christian festivals.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://humanism.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/aspects-of-humanism-source-book-2012.pdf| title = "A humanist discussion of… Religious Festivals and Ceremonies"}}</ref> Other humanists choose to mark the [[Winter solstice|winter]] and [[summer solstice| summer]] solstices and the [[equinox]]es. European humanists may often emphasise the fact that human beings have found reasons to celebrate at these times in the Northern Hemisphere for thousands of years before the arrival of Christianity.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/christmas-humanist-celebration-jesus-religion-family-a9260146.html|title=I'm a humanist who loves Christmas – for me, it's much more than a religious event|work=[[The Independent]]|author=Andrew Copson|author-link=Andrew Copson|access-date=4 November 2020|date=25 December 2017}}</ref> Humanists may also identify culturally with religious traditions and holidays celebrated in their family in the community. For example, humanists with a Jewish identity will often celebrate most Jewish holidays in a secular manner.

Humanists International endorses [[World Humanist Day]] (21 June), [[Darwin Day]] (12 February), [[Human Rights Day]] (10 December) and [[HumanLight]] (23 December) as official days of humanist celebration, though none are yet a public holiday. Humanist organisations typically organise events around these dates which draw attention to their programmes of activities.

In many countries, [[humanist celebrant]]s (officiants) perform [[celebrancy]] services for weddings, funerals, [[Naming ceremony|child namings]], [[Secular coming of age ceremony|coming of age ceremonies]], and other rituals. In countries like Scotland and Norway, these are extremely popular. In Scotland, more people have a humanist wedding than are married by any religious denomination, including Scotland's largest churches; over 20% of Scottish weddings are humanist. In Norway, over 20% of young people choose humanist coming-of-age ceremonies every year.