Shoud atheists celebrate Christmas?

[intedomine]

This year I've taken the bold step in not celebrating Xmas at all.

For 3 years I have refused to say (christ)mas and i always refer to it as xmas.

Sure I will be buying gifts and catching up with distant friends and family, yet we are celebrating a break from the ordinary life of work and study and getting ready to welcome in a new year, rather than the birth of a dead man to a woman who could not have been a virgin.

A lot of acquaintances have been puzzled over my new approach to Xmas, which is low key and untraditional. But I have to do it and I have felt really proud about it.

I try and avoid those cringeworth carols such as 'away in a manger' and 'silent night.'

XMAS time has never felt so different, and so fresh, exiciting and worthwhile.

"Let's take the christ outta christmas
And celebrate the solstice
And let commercialisation reign
Cause its not gonna wane"

 

[Angela Harlem]

You know what Mr Garrison would be singing to YOU, now dont you?

 

[beli]

My family get together, exchange presents, eat crayfish (brother in law catches them) and then we go for a swim.

Thats it really. Quite boring. Its only starting to get interesting again now cause theres children who are wishfully hopping Santa will bring them a robot unicorn

PS Any help on locating a robot unicorn is welcomed.

 

[Popmartijn]

I wikipedia-ed Christmas and this is what came out:

Ah, wikipedia, a great source of information. I hope you've read the whole article about Christmas, instead of just quoting the beginning. Because it has a lot of interesting information:

Customs and celebrations

An enormous number of customs, with either secular, religious, or national aspects, surround Christmas, and vary from country to country. Most of the familiar traditional practices and symbols of Christmas, such as the Christmas tree, the Christmas ham, the Yule Log, holly, mistletoe, and the giving of presents, were adapted or appropriated by Christian missionaries from the earlier Asatru pagan midwinter holiday of Yule. This celebration of the winter solstice was widespread and popular in northern Europe long before the arrival of Christianity, and the word for Christmas in the Scandinavian languages is still today the pagan jul (=yule). The Christmas tree per se is believed to have first been used in Germany.

Rather than attempting to suppress such popular pagan feast days, Pope Gregory I allowed Christian missionaries to give them a Christian reinterpretation, while permitting most of the associated customs to continue with little or no modification.2 The give and take between religious and governmental authorities and celebrators of Christmas continued through the years. Places where conservative Christian theocracies flourished, as in Cromwellian England and in the early New England colonies, were among those where celebrations were suppressed.3 After the Russian Revolution, Christmas celebrations were banned in the Soviet Union for the next seventy five years. A few present day Christian churches, notably the Jehovah's Witnesses, some Puritan groups, and some ultra-conservative fundamentalist denominations, still view Christmas as a pagan holiday not sanctioned by the Bible, and do not celebrate it.

So, apparently, a true, non-hypocritical Christian is not allowed to have a Christmas tree, give presents, etc.

 

[martha]

one church out of millions...

Actually, the Church of Christ is a fairly large Protestant denomination here in the US, but don't let a fact ruin your carefully thought out theory.

 

[datatyme]

There is no code of conduct for atheists. Atheist simply means 'no god". An atheist could believe in love, peace, etc. An atheist could also believe in eating small children for breakfast. There are no rules.

Please, I feel like Im repeating myself endlessly here.

I live in the USA, and there are many rules here, even rules against eating small children whether you're athiest or not.

I don't understand why Christians celebrate Christmas. It's all based on pagan traditions and other gods.

Once upon a time, there was a baby, thought to be the Son of God, born of a virgin woman, and magi brought Him gifts in a barn. He was considered “the way, the truth and the light”, even “savior” and “messiah”. His birthday, December 25th was also celebrated each year. And Sunday was considered His day, not Saturday (the Sabbath) as it was in Judaism. He performed miracles. He was celibate his whole life. He had 12 companions or disciples, and His followers also ate bread and drank wine symbolizing His blood and body. He died and was buried in a tomb, and was resurrected three days later. After His resurrection, He went to heaven and to be with His Heavenly Father, and it is said that He will come back again one day in a final judgment day, where all men are resurrected and God sends them to heaven or hell. Nobody believes in this God anymore, but He was once popular. His name is Mithra and he was born about 600 years before Jesus.

Whether you be atheist, pagan, Christian, Muslim, etc., I wish you all a very happy holiday!

 

[BrownEyedBoy]

I can't believe I'm the only one who sees a contradiction in: an atheist celebrating a Christian holiday.

 

[beli]

I can't believe I'm the only one who sees a contradiction in: an atheist celebrating a Christian holiday.

Why do you choose to ignore the posts in this thread? I really dont understand your way of thinking / reading. Please elaborate.

 

[BrownEyedBoy]

Why do you keep saying that? I've read all of them and all it says is: "Atheists are not aware that it's a Christian holiday, nor do some Chrisitans."

That doesn't make it any less a Christian holiday, though. It celebrates the birth of Christ, for the love of God! If not that then what does it celebrate? Did people just randomly come up with the name Christ-mas, and the whole December over nothing?

Really, I'm not trying to be rude or anything but it's just something I noticed and felt like talking about with open minded people who would probably just laugh it off and say "so?". Instead, all I see is denial ....or people pleading ignorance.

 

[Calluna]

 

[beli]

Why do you keep saying that? I've read all of them and all it says is: "Atheists are not aware that it's a Christian holiday, nor do some Chrisitans."

That doesn't make it any less a Christian holiday, though. It celebrates the birth of Christ, for the love of God! If not that then what does it celebrate? Did people just randomly come up with the name Christ-mas, and the whole December over nothing?

Really, I'm not trying to be rude or anything but it's just something I noticed and felt like talking about with open minded people who would probably just laugh it off and say "so?". Instead, all I see is denial ....or people pleading ignorance.

BrownEyedBoy,

Please ponder why this thread has many posts and yet you still feel nothing has been said.

Please ponder why many people have corrected the falsehoods in your statements and yet you continue to repeat them.

Please ponder why you ask questions and choose to not listen to the answers.

Thank you

peace

 

[Popmartijn]

My thoughts exactly. How stupid can one be. It seems the craft of reading what one writes is completely forgotten by some...

*joins Calluna in *

 

[Salome]

I haven't read this thread (for obvious reasons) but aren't the celebrations surrounding christmas mostly pagan rituals anyway?

I would guess that no matter what you (don't) believe in it never hurts to celebrate being with loved ones


talking about loved ones ....
I'm out of here

 

[Techie2000]

I posted this somewhere else on the topic, and I feel its worth repeating...

From my perspective, I always felt that Christmas wasn't really much of a religious holiday, and think that even if one does not believe it is still worth celebrating simply because it is fun to be joyful. Even as far as the aspect of Jesus goes, whether or not you believe he was God or the Messiah, he was still a historically significant figure who from what I can tell used his life to try and do good in the world and I'll be damned if he isn't worth celebrating anymore than MLK, Chris Columbus, or Abe Lincoln.

 

[yimou]

Religion or no religion ( ME ).. Have a nice xmas, and i hope you all havn´t wasted too much money on this corporate holiday

 

[indra]

Living in a house that has everything powered by electricity, I'm going to be celebrating having my power back on and not having it out the 48 hours I was told it might be when I called it in.

Thank you electric company line workers!!!

 

[cell]

interesting thread...