Atheists who celebrate X-mas

[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.

 

[Atticus89]

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.

Everything else done is not strictly Christmas, but tradition. That is saying nothing of course about the origins of these traditions but they are no way and in no part a religious celebration.

Saint Nicholas is a Christian Saint, of East European (german?) origin, coloured by Coca Cola and dumped in the North Pole.

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

Actually, the popular American image of Santa Claus wasn't created by Coca Cola but by the famous political cartoonist Thomas Nast, responsible for other such creations as the Republican elephant, the Democratic donkey, and the modern form of Uncle Sam.

 

[dietpeachsnapple]

Athiests celebrating Christmas? Maybe not for the religious reasons, but I see no problem with it being for personal reasons.

 

[humor_involuntario]

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).

again, easter is a holiday celebrated b many cultures and religions. pagans brought the whole rabbit and egg thing, but easter was celebreated by the jewish people as their exodus from egypt, and it was probably given in other places.
amd just one extra comment for the whole pagan stuff: you know, pagans were not THE big thing, so I came to this conclucion: If there were so many pagans that the power hungry medieval church had to create important holidays for them. why they didn't did it for the jewishs? or the gypsis? "The pagans did it first did not explaind everything, and even if the church was probably the worst thing that happend to man at that time, I don't think they had to re-write their whole agenda for a minority. (again, easter as it is celebreted is pagan, but the other methods of celbreating that certain holiday are not, as most are from jewish origin [the chrisian part is for the resurection, that happend around the same time the jews were celebrating their holiday, as a reason to imprison him])

 

[Krylock]

Christmas is a captilist scam to sell popular products. Its all about the gifts nowa days.

 

[Twilight_guy]

Christmas has actually become a cultural icon in America. Even non-religious people or people of non-Christan faiths observe it in some way in the USA. A large amount of secular traditions and idea float around it and probably more then the actually religious part of it. Not everyone goes to church on Christmas but everyone know it is Christmas.

 

[Andantil]

I'm a nihilist and I celebrate it. Whenever anybody calls me out on it, I say I'm celebrating "Arbitrary Gift Giving Day"

Christmas only has any religious meaning if you're christian, otherwise it's just a commercial holiday.

 

[Steamtech]

As a follower of Druidism, I would just like to anounce, in the spirit of the subject, Blessed Yule to all whom it may concern!