Atheists/Agnostics, Do You Celebrate Christmas? (weapons, myths, children, work)

[chielgirl]

Originally Posted by afoigrokerkok

This thread makes me need some egg nog. ASAP.

Forget the egg, just add nog (rum).

[wade52]

Originally Posted by ChocLot

Christmas is a holiday that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ and is celebrated by Christians throughout the world.

If you are a non-believer, do you celebrate Christmas? Meaning, do you put up Christmas decorations, a Christmas tree, do you buy Christmas gifts, etc?

Why/why not?

I'm a nonbeliever and I celebrate. It's my favorite holday of the year. The midwinter celebration was thousands of years old when the church decided to grab it and try to make it theirs.

Biblical scholars can't even agree on what year Jesus was born, let alone the date.

[UnexpectedError]

Originally Posted by GuyNTexas

Actually, that's only a partial truth. Wanna know the real scoop?

In the early days of Christianity, it was not good to be a Christian. They were an outlawed group, highly persecuted in the roman empire, until much later when Rome adopted Christianity as the State Religion.

Prior to that, Rome celebrated Saturnalia in late December ... the worship of Saturn .. the Sun God ... most certainly a pagan ritual celebration of the Winter Solstice, which included decorating homes and gift giving and feasts.

Christians, being an outlawed group couldn't exactly have their own holiday celebration of the birth of Christ openly for obvious reasons, which was understood to be not during winter, as the telling of Christ's birth (in a manger) included language of shepherds attending their flocks all night ... suggests a much earlier date of birth, likely summer or early fall. But in order to celebrate Christ's birth (son of God), they conjoined their celebration of Christ with the traditional Roman Holiday of Saturnalia .. the worship of the Sun God, during the same period and observing the same basic traditions for their safety.

So it's really not a stolen holiday as much as it was a piggy back on the pagan worship of the Sun God, stealthily concealed within that existing Holiday for safety reasons. The adopted traditions stuck, and remained a part of the Christmas celebration thereafter.

So, Christmas has always been a Christian Holiday celebrating the birth of Christ ... and openly so since the 5th Century. Prior to that, it was still a celebration of Christ's birth, concealed within the celebration of Saturnalia.

So in other words, exactly what I said. Today's christmas traditions have nothing to do with christianity, they're just adapted pagan rituals.

[Aganusn]

Originally Posted by ChocLot

Christmas is a holiday that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ and is celebrated by Christians throughout the world.

If you are a non-believer, do you celebrate Christmas? Meaning, do you put up Christmas decorations, a Christmas tree, do you buy Christmas gifts, etc?

Why/why not?

I don't celebrate, I participate. Also, it is a generally accepted notion that christmas was literally stolen from others' traditions and that Jesus wasn't even born anywhere near the 25th of December.

[ChocLot]

Originally Posted by UnexpectedError

Teehee, yeah, I do. What a silly question.

But answer my question. Are these christians who celebrate Halloween hypocrites, or just enjoying an American cultural tradition?

No, they aren't pagans. Yes, they are hypocrites. I don't pick and choose what I believe based on how "fun" it is. Halloween looks like a great time; dressing up, partying, etc, but I don't celebrate a pagan holiday. Christians who do are hypocrites, just like the atheists who celebrate Christmas.

[ChocLot]

Atheists are quite amazing to me. I've lost all respect for those who are so anti-Christian, yet they are okay with celebrating Christmas. I give little credence to your pagan reference. For those who use this excuse, are you celebrating the return of the sun?

[ChocLot]

Originally Posted by Aganusn

I don't celebrate, I participate. Also, it is a generally accepted notion that christmas was literally stolen from others' traditions and that Jesus wasn't even born anywhere near the 25th of December.

How convenient. Atheists seem to be able to be ingenious in finding loopholes about observing a Christian holiday.

If Christmas isn't recognized as a US Christian holiday, why is there always this big Happy Holidays push by so many? Why not say Merry Christmas, then? I mean, the holiday is secular, right? So, what's the problem?

[Glitch]

I do not celebrate Christmas, but I do celebrate Winter Solstice. I do not celebrate with gifts, just a feast. Living this far north Winter Solstice holds more meaning. It marks the day when we start gaining daylight again. When there is only 3.5 hours of daylight on Winter Solstice day, gaining daylight by 5 minutes per day it is a big deal and worthy of celebration.

I am not offended by someone wishing me a Merry Christmas or a Happy Holiday, because in both cases they are wishing me joy and happiness. Who could possibly be offended by that?

[Glitch]

Originally Posted by ChocLot

Atheists are quite amazing to me. I've lost all respect for those who are so anti-Christian, yet they are okay with celebrating Christmas. I give little credence to your pagan reference. For those who use this excuse, are you celebrating the return of the sun?

I do not celebrate Christmas, but I do celebrate the "return of the sun." Actually, it is the gaining daylight for the next six months that I celebrate. I also consider Summer Solstice to be a day of mourning, because it marks when we begin losing daylight again.

[Mach50]

This is no longer Christmas, it is "The Holidays" to me...I am agnostic and very happy.