Atheists who celebrate X-mas

[AzrealMaximillion]

Im raised catholic, but Atheists should celebrate X-mas.....without calling it christmas,without a star on the tree, and without everything else that has major religious affiliation. Atheists, no, EVERYONE, celebrates the basic meanings of christmas (or Annual Day of Gift Giving for you atheists) which is being generous and being with the ones you love and showing them how much you love them

Well by that logic Christians should be calling Christmas by it's actual pagan name. Saturnalia. The Christmas Tree originated from the pagan tradition of briging a bough of evergreen into the home. Telling Atheists to call it Annual Gift Giving Day is a bit ass backwards when you look at the history of how Saturnalia was turned into Christmas. So happy Saturnalia.

 

[MoNKeyYy]

Why would you celebrate x-mas? Santa is gonna come and blow your fucking brains out!!!!!!




I'd check to see if this joke has already been made but I don't care enough.

 

[Jandau]

Holidays, even if they are religiously based, are often cultural events. Even if an atheist doesn't participate in any religion, there is no reason not to participate in the culuture of the country he's living in.

 

[LadyRhian]

I prefer the commercialized version of the holiday, that it's about giving gifts, helping our fellow man, spending time with loved ones, getting wasted on egg nog, and watching holiday movies on the boob-tube. My atheist best friend very much agrees, but also claims he's merely just celebrating the Winter Solstice. Hell I wish we could de-religionize it so everyone could enjoy it.

That being said, I don't celebrate Easter because of the religious reasons. Not that I'm an atheist, I'm agnostic, I just don't feel right celebrating it if my hearts not in the subject matter.

As has been said, Christmas was never Christian, and Jesus was born when Shepherds had their flocks in the fields by night- which is autumn, specifically September or October. Pretty much everything in the holiday comes from Pagans. Decorated trees? Pagan. Giving gifts? Pagan. Holly and the kissing thereunder? Pagan. Even Eggnog is pagan, coming from the North. Also, the idea of the rebirth of the sun and light is pagan. It's Winter Solstice under a "Christian" name. Winter Solstice celebrates the rebirth of the sun and the days getting longer, which it starts to do now.

And, Easter is also a pagan holiday, Sacred to the goddess Eostre. And the imagery of that is also pagan. It's a celebration of fertility, thus the imagery of eggs, chicks, and rabbits (rabbits especially having lots of mating, there's a reason it's called "boinking like bunnies").

http://www.religioustolerance.org/easter1.htm

In some countries, they light fires on Easter (The Netherlands being one of them). This is probably a holdover of the pagan "Jumping of the fire" where a bonfire would be lit and people jump over it.

I started out Christian, went pagan, and am now an atheist (with a steady stream of agnostic- I really just don't care, honestly).

 

[oppp7]

I act like its a holiday for fun. Just like Halloween. Nothing wrong with that.

 

[Nobodyman]

I agree. Christmas has become completly comercialized, so I don't have to much of an issue with celebrating it. Easter is kind of the same thing.

 

[Nazulu]

My whole family is Athiest and we celebrate almost everything, not just because were hypocrites but it's a great reason to party and get the family all together.

 

[Klarinette]

<-- Pagan
Let's just say that Christmas has become far too commercialized for it to really matter anymore who celebrates it, in my opinion. It's all about the money now. Even the most religious mom ever will totally shit herself over making the most unbelievable/family-impressing holiday meal ever. That and the decorations - OH, the tacky decorations. Anyone else have a mum/parental figure who busts out the decorations right on (or possibly before) December 1st? My dad's like "FUCK YEAH CHRISTMAS LIGHTS" but mum always goes out of her way to make things tacky and uncomfortable inside.

That said, I like Christmas and family and schtuff, but FUCK, do I hate Christmas music. As a concert band musician, I'm slapped in the face with it nice and early, and it's all I play for a solid, like, month and a half. MAKE IT STOP D:

 

[Naeo]

I'm a pantheist/deist combination of some sort, and I celebrate it because it's when you get more stuff going on sale and it's an excuse to buy stuff for people (I get some odd satisfaction out of giving nice gifts).

 

[Michael826]

Christmas has nothing to do with Christianity, never did. The pagans made it an the Christans stole and renamed it. Now it's a commercial holiday celebrated by most people regardless of religion. People like getting gifts and spending money, why not celebrate it?

Well said, too many Christians fail to realise that their most important holiday has nothing to do with their religion.

OT: I get presents. That's what Christmas is about, now anyway.

Quoted for the truth. Christmas is about as religious as me; that is, not at all.

 

[Thesreyn]

Coca Cola created Santa Claus as we know him. Don't think for one minute that this is even close to a religious holiday.

 

[Dice Warwick]

X-mas is a pagan holiday, Cristian just took it to help them convert pagans, even Santa is a character from pagan loor. But in the end X-mas is more of winter celebration, it's near or on the winter solstice (which only means to me that a treesim {Pagan} friend of mine WILL get laid, and I'm glad I'm not near him at that time)

 

[Ancientgamer]

It's a Christian holiday. Regardless of what it was in the past, it currently is a Christian holiday (over-commercialized, definitely!) The thing that I don't get is why Atheists celebrate "Christ's mass" instead of say, the solstice or some other secular reason around the same time. Even Santa Claus is based off of the patron saint of Charity.

Likewise, regardless of what it was in the past, it is no longer a strictly Christian holiday either.

then they really shouldn't call it Christmas.

The phrase was coined nearly a millennia ago. At this point it's like complaining about people who call the second day of the week Tuesday but don't worship Týr, the norse god of duels.

 

[Sarahcidal]

Im a Pastafarian.. we celebrate Holiday.. which for us, is basically Christmas, minus santa and god still do the tree as i like the tradition of it, and the gifts

 

[Snake Plissken]

As an anti-theist, I have the perfect reason to celebrate X-mas...

December 25th is my goddamned birthday.

You are more than welcome to gift me Steam games. *wink wink*

 

[zehydra]

It's a Christian holiday. Regardless of what it was in the past, it currently is a Christian holiday (over-commercialized, definitely!) The thing that I don't get is why Atheists celebrate "Christ's mass" instead of say, the solstice or some other secular reason around the same time. Even Santa Claus is based off of the patron saint of Charity.

Likewise, regardless of what it was in the past, it is no longer a strictly Christian holiday either.

then they really shouldn't call it Christmas.

The phrase was coined nearly a millennia ago. At this point it's like complaining about people who call the second day of the week Tuesday but don't worship Týr, the norse god of duels.

Point taken. But when was the last time you saw a worshipper of Tyr though?

 

[Canadamus Prime]

I'm an atheist and I celebrate Christmas. I celebrate it because I think it's more about the giving and sharing then it is about some dead guy's birthday.

Christmas has nothing to do with Christianity, never did. The pagans made it an the Christans stole and renamed it. Now it's a commercial holiday celebrated by most people regardless of religion. People like getting gifts and spending money, why not celebrate it?

Esp. since most of the details surrounding the Christian side of it where arbitrarily decided upon by some council in Rome in about the 10th century or something like that.