The holidays can be stressful on most people, and I'm sure they can be even tougher when you hold beliefs that the rest of your family is not so fond of....
As you join with friends and family this Holiday season, how do you deal with differences in beliefs that may arise at gatherings? You might think "just don't bring it up", but what if someone else does?
My friends know what oath I follow and it isn't an issue with them. Thankfully there hasn't been a problem with any of them, a few are fellow pagans and the others are open minded!
As for family.....My immediate family knows about my pagan beliefs but I don't think they know the extent of it. I'm a private person when it comes to my faith and that is because I lost a friend once before and I don't want to push away my family. To be honest, though, it is my extended family that I'm worried about. My mother's side is in the Hawai'i area, so there is the fact that they have their own old deities but they are all Catholics of varying degree. My father's side are some form of Christian belief(Methodist I think) and my grandparents are devout, but I'm not sure about my aunts, uncles, and cousins. Religion isn't really touched upon on our usual get togethers but with Christmas here there is mention of Jesus and all that the Bible says about that, but there is no discussion on someone's beliefs. I will say that my facebook page says I am Pagan and anyone in my family can see that, but no one has said anything.
If the day comes and I'm approached about my beliefs my first response would be that it is my own concern and its something I am not comfortable talking about. If they persist, well, I'll have to tell them that I'm Pagan. What happens after that, questions and what not, depends on the person and what they believe.
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