Um, Why do Atheists Celebrate Christmas

Even before Christianity came around, people in Europe celebrated the Winter Solstice. Christians decided to position one of their favorite holy days around that time because it was already such a fun celebration. It doesn't bother me that Atheists celebrate Christmas. If they want to celebrate a version of the holiday minus the additional historical and spiritual meaning that was added after the fact, that's no skin off my nose.

FaithInMe said:
Similar to that of the witch hunts... oh how sexist of religion, we cant have any freethinking women around :/
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You're sort of missing the point there. Witch-burning wasn't about women, it was about satanism. There were plenty of male witches burned too. Also, you can't just criticize "religion" because of mistakes the Christian churches made hundreds and hundreds of years ago. That's like saying that "political parties" are evil because of what the Nazis did.
 
Bluerang1 said:
I was just wondering, and wondering what you guys think. I mean it's generally "Christ's" "Mas". Christ means Jesus Christ, and Mas means Carnival, celebration, remember, whatever, it should be a religious thing. And it is.

But why do Atheists, especially the ones who hate religion with a passion get to join in in out fun? They also suck out the meaning of this glorious time, same as Easter which hurts. I know they've been commercialised, Santa, Easter Bunny, but we created the Holiday.
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I don't like that Atheists use Christmas as a holiday, but what are you gonna do? The whole meaning has been washed away by a flood of advertisement and products from people who want to take advantage of this holy time. Any excuse to get out of work and/or receive presents is a good excuse that few people would say no to.
One could say that "Oh this holy time is something glorious that is to be shared by all!" but one could also say "Not religious? Screw you if you try to take advantage of religious holidays."
XD
And on the note; "We created the holiday" I don't believe this is true. I have never really good in history, but I think that when the countries of old were converted to Christianity, the holidays were most often around the time of the previous religions holidays. This was so that the people didn't need to get used to any drastic changes when a new religion was introduced.
Still, it celebrates the birth of Christ and all that, but the time of year is a reflection of old religions, if I am not mistaken. This is probably why there are alot of religions with holidays at that time of year.
Bluerang1 said:
If you don;t respect us, don;t respect our Holidays.
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I think you worded that a little wrong....?
They should respect both, but if they just respect 1, that's close enough, right? XD
 
Misdreavus81 said:
I respect religion, but it doesn't mean I partake in it.
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Ha. Your previous signature said otherwise. And in fact, that part was directed at you, because of your signature.

And yes, we "stole" the time of year, but who started the whole "family" "gifts" togetherness" thing? And Jesus was in fact born in the Spring. He was conceived in the 8th month, which is August. 9 months along will be April, same month he died, and season Spring. Although, July and August may not have been added yet at that time.

Thanks fo your input Code :D And also to to others ;)
 
Originally, my parents let us celebrate it so that my sister and I didn't feel left out when all the white kids at school started talking about all the presents they received.

But I do agree with you, somewhat (I would've phrased it differently, though...). If I have a kid myself, I don't think I would celebrate religious holidays. If s/he wants to become convert to a religion later on and celebrate its holidays, though, that's fine with me.

And if it makes you feel better, I use BCE and CE.
 
Not only because I like gifts, but I (for the most part) respect people's religions.
Nah, that's not right. I don't.
I honestly don't know why I celebrate it.
Probably just for the presents.
Also, my family doesn't know i'm an atheist. I've told them, but they are the religious types that can't get anything that doesn't fit in with their religion through their thick skulls. It's most likely since they're Republicans.
Kidding :P (Not really, don't bite my head off.)
We also live in the south, and most people know what southerners are like.
 
I celebrate it because I was raised that way. A lot of my family are Anglican, including my mother, so I've always celebrated it and Easter, even if I'm not a member of the religion. Like people have said, I also celebrate it for the family aspects, being together with members of the family I rarely see and all that. :3
 
Jordan said:
Summer time for whom?
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It's been confirmed that Jesus' birthday was somewhere between March and June - not December.

S'all.

But as said, Christmas is for everyone! To spread good cheer, get together, have family time. Christmas religiously is to celebrate the birth of Christ (even if the date is wrong); Christmas to the modern society is to celebrate family and giving gifts. To the companies, it's a moneyfest.
 
Misdreavus81 said:
Here's another religious person trying to classify atheists.


I celebrate the day, not the meaning. There's a difference.

And what do you mean by sucking the fun and meaning out of everything by disrespecting your religion? Why must you assume atheists are all disrespectful towards your religion? I respect religion, but it doesn't mean I partake in it.

People seriously assume too much for their own good here.
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uh, not really- it's a curious person wanting to broaden their views- and seeing your previous signature- ahem let's see was it-
Religion is Evil?
religion will kill us all?
yes major respect- no- you're just another backwards atheist trying to classify all religion- someone who is completely intolerant towards everyone that doesn't believe the exact same thing they do- what you need to learn is tolerance- you don't have to like religion, but don't go spreading bias hate speech- it makes you seem uneducated-
AS FOR THE SUBJECT MATTER AT HAND
i think it's just because it's more a time for family now
 
Spoiler:


Exactly D; It's just family time, good food, and presents for everyday people. Most religious individuals just like the spirit of giving, since God gave Jesus as a prophet to the world. One of the nicest gifts, I'd say.
 
Religion might not be the root of all evil, but it sure is the root of most.

Hamilton said:


uh, not really- it's a curious person wanting to broaden their views- and seeing your previous signature- ahem let's see was it-
Religion is Evil?
religion will kill us all?
yes major respect- no- you're just another backwards atheist trying to classify all religion- someone who is completely intolerant towards everyone that doesn't believe the exact same thing they do- what you need to learn is tolerance- you don't have to like religion, but don't go spreading bias hate speech- it makes you seem uneducated-
AS FOR THE SUBJECT MATTER AT HAND
i think it's just because it's more a time for family now
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Kind of like the Crusades, where tons of people of different faiths were killed, for that exact reason?
Aren't Christians intolerant toward people that don't believe what they do, telling them they will burn in hell?

Let's not take this too far, I'd hate for the thread to be closed because of it.
 
Actually, why would religion be evil, when it teaches good morals and values?

It is the people who use religion badly who are bad. The text itself doesn't cause hatred or evil things. It's the people who try to benefit and control other humans with it that are the evil ones. People who editted religions, like Christianity, to their own benefit are evil (in this case, the Roman committee hundreds of years ago). Not religion.

As said, Christmas has become a national holiday even for the non-religious. I don't see why atheists can't take advantage of it to have friendly, family time, too.
 
Yusshin said:
Actually, why would religion be evil, when it teaches good morals and values?

It is the people who use religion badly who are bad. The text itself doesn't cause hatred or evil things. It's the people who try to benefit and control other humans with it that are the evil ones. People who editted religions, like Christianity, to their own benefit are evil (in this case, the Roman committee hundreds of years ago). Not religion.

As said, Christmas has become a national holiday even for the non-religious. I don't see why atheists can't take advantage of it to have friendly, family time, too.
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or like the Westborough Baptist Church in Kansas- people are evil- not religion
 
Cause they think Santa is hot, obv. If not him, then the reindeers. It's all simple really.
 
It's because they've done careful calculations and determined that the value of gifts received exceeds their gift expenditures, therefore making Christmas financially profitable.

And it should be noted that though I am "Christian" I barely celebrated Christmas last year. My parents woke me up early, I quickly opened the few presents I had, then promptly went back to sleep until about 6PM.
 
Christmas is no longer about religion.
 
Christmas is a pagan holiday anyways but w/e slkfsdkfjlsd



I'm christian, but i hardly celebrate christmas for religious purposes ;<

I like toys and decorating and food :'D
 
Because we are heathenistic bastards that love agonizing people by jumping in on their holidays.
 
Christmas is the day to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. It's a free country so atheists can do whatever they wish but imo if an atheist celebrates Christmas they aren't a true atheist.
 
I beg to differ. Atheists don't even think about Jesus, and they sure as Hell aren't celebrating his birth on Christmas day.

They celebrate Christmas for presents, family time, and other things. Again, Christmas has become a national holiday celebrating giving and family time. To every citizen, it is now a family-based holiday.

An atheist's intention for Christmas isn't to celebrate Jesus at all. It's to celebrate family. If the intention to not celebrate Jesus is there, then yes, they are still atheists, and you can't say "they aren't atheists at all" because they don't give a rat's ass about Jesus lol just family and presents.
 
I understand atheists aren't think about Jesus but it is still a Christian holiday so they are giving into a Christian tradition to a degree.
 
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