Atheists who celebrate X-mas

[JemothSkarii]

I like Christmas. Brother comes around, it's really close to my GF's and my anniversary, we get to pig out, and I get distractions in the form of colorful boxes filled with secrets. Whether or not a Mexican was born that day (*holds up flame shield*) doesn't really matter anymore.
I'm atheist, and I can celebrate things too.

 

[starwarsgeek]

Really, it's become two holidays at once. The religious Christmas, where Christians celebrate the birth of Christ, and the secular christmas, where people gather to share gifts and be merry. I don't see why non-Christians celebrating secular christmas bothers your friends...it's fine by me.

 

[Slick Samurai]

I'm an atheist, but I still celebrate Christmas. Why? Because I view religion as a stepping stone to the human imagination. An important path to culture and how it is today. Good or bad, culture today just wouldn't be as it is if it weren't for religion.

When I celebrate Christmas and Easter, I reminisce on the years of my past and the years to come. I meet with family I normally don't see. And I give and receive the joy of presents. I guess, really I'm just happy to be part of such an imaginative and intuitive species.

 

[Dags90]

Umm i'll take this question. Because we have better things to do then to be highstrung about the name of a holiday or even be bothered enough too create our own. We just wish to partake. No reason for us to make a big deal when one isn't necessary.

The notion that Santa should be abandoned 'because he's based on a Christian saint' is also pretty ridiculous. Are atheists not allowed to make references to religion or something? Are Christians in particular upset that it's their religion being referenced?

I really wish more Christians followed the "God bless us, everyone." spirit of Christmas.

 

[Lem0nade Inlay]

I'm Catholic (kind of) and I got no problem with Atheists celebrating Christmas...but please don't call it "X-Mas", that just sounds so...blergh. Something that Bogans (rednecks) would call it.

 

[IamQ]

the commercialism is the only thing I like about christmas. I hate celebrating it on the 24th, and I hate buying presents.

I do like getting them though.

 

[clicketycrack]

The celebration of christmas in it's proper form, the worship of Christ and his birth, has only every constituted of one thing; going to church on christmas eve (and on christmas day) to pray and celebrate the birth of the human god.

As a Christian, this is really the only religious part of Christmas for me, and it only takes about an hour. That's why I get it out of the way on Christmas Eve so I can revel in materialism the next morning. Christmas wasn't really even that important to Christians until Charles Dickins attempted to revive the "Christmas spirit" into a more secular form based around family as opposed to church in the early nineteenth century. In a weird way, secularism actually birthed the modern Christmas celebration instead of just another Catholic feast day.

 

[Phototoxin]

I think it's a bit hypocritical... but in a secular society why does everything shut down? Why not business as usual and the Xtns can book holidays?

 

[paragon1]

I think it's great that your friends want to participate in an event that encourages charity and goodwill towards others.

Also: Learn. To Use. Periods.

 

[zoulza]

In Russia, New Year's Day is far more prominent then Christmas. It's basically our substitute for it.

There's also our national Christmas, the Orthodox one, which is 7th of January (I think) - it's fairly religious and as such, I don't celebrate it.

Yep, I'm Russian as well, and my dad's side of the family is Orthodox. I don't celebrate Christmas though.

See, in Russia, Christmas is a legitimate religious holiday.

 

[Belaam]

I love Protestants protesting to keep "Christ" in Christmas while only the Catholics are keeping the "mass" in Christmas.

It certainly has some Christian roots, (though as others have pointed out, the Mithran and Solstice roots go deeper) but I don't really feel Christianity is the focus for most people.

If nothing else, I think everyone knows that even if there was a Jesus, his birthday, as given in the bible, is certainly not mid-December. The sole reason the holiday occurs in December was to help co-op Mithras worshipers into Christianity. i

 

[Brutal Peanut]

Well, like I've said before on X-mas posts:
Christmas is what you make of it, and I think that's awesome.

People can really use it as a day to come together for all kinds of different reasons.
My family just uses it as another excuse to get together and spend some time with one another.
If we can. Having presents was never really an issue. If you can't afford it, or refuse
to give any, we don't really care. XD

Whether or not you want to celebrate it and make it apart of your life religiously
(even though we all know it's Pagan), is up to you and yours.

Food, presents (or not, some don't give presents), or just treating it like any other
day.

DO WITH IT WHAT YOU WILL MY SPECIAL SNOWFLAKES!

 

[Vykrel]

i am an athiest who celebrates the gift and decoration part of christmas (which is the only part most people care about nowadays)

and i wonder if your friends go to church any time around christmas day, or if they just like getting gifts.

 

[asinann]

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.

Because the solstice was also once a religious day. And everything about christmas is stolen by christianity. Just like the rest of their holidays. I am an atheist, my family isn't. I use the name of the day so they have something recognizable to call the day. Just because I don't follow your fairy tail doesn't mean that I can't enjoy a family gathering and a feast.

 

[Acidmokolord]

Aside from it being over comercialized, another big reason why atheists celebrate Christmas might be because they grew up with it. Certainly the reason i refer to it as Christmas is because that's what i'm used to and also because people tend to understand faster then if you say "happy winter solstice." Honestly, though aside from the name there never was much "christian" about Christmas.

I agree. Christmas has become more commercialised over the years. Remember when Coca-Cola nearly bought Santa Claus? Although Santa Claus is not a christian symbol for christmas, we've still incorperated it into our yearly celebration because it's what everyone else does. Someone at some point thought of Santa Claus as a symbol and we just stuck with it.

Christian belief encourages hospitality, so it's Christian to allow Atheiests to celebrate Christmas. Atheiests just don't celebrate the Christian aspect of the holiday.

 

[NiPah]