If athiests don't believe in a god why do some get caught up in the christmas dance with giving gifts and going to christmas parties and appearing to christians that they support christmas? If you are a athiest do you put a christmas tree up in your home?
For many, Christmas is a family tradition - not a Christian holiday. It's kind of like Thanksgiving in that regard.
Your 'holy-day' has been usurped (after you usurped it yourselves) and is now a secular 'holiday' :-p
Pray tell, how on earth do "the christmas dance with giving gifts and going to christmas parties" and putting a Christmas tree have anything to do with believing in a god?
Because, despite what you Christians may say, Christmas is a whole lot more than just Jesus' birthday. It is a time of year where families gather and see each other, often for the one time per year. It is about giving gifts and enjoying each others company, you don't need to be a theist to participate in that.
I guess even people who don't believe in God like presents.
newsflash for you. christmas is a pagan tradition. so why do christians celebrate it?
just google origins of christmas and you'll see
You're picking and choosing your logic. Christmas has become quite the Consumer Holiday, as has Valentine's Day and Halloween...
Furthermore, Christmas has many different meanings for many different people. For Christians, yes - they celebrate the birth of Jesus, some on Dec.25, and some from Dec.25 all the way until Jan.6, the 'real' date of his birth. These people who believe that "Jesus is the Reason for the Season" also put up the Pagan Christmas Tree with various ornaments, and many still give their children gifts in the name of Santa Claus - not to celebrate Paganism or folklore, but because it's simply tradition.
Some celebrate the Winter Solstice, or Christmas, with the Pagan Christmas Tree decorated traditionally in fruits, or more modernly with ornaments, burn the yule log, burn red candles to symbolize the fire and heat of the returning sun as the days begin to lengthen, hang mistletoe, give money to charity, or volunteer for a charitable event, etc etc etc. None of these things are 'Christian'. They also generally exchange gifts, not to celebrate Christianity, but because Christmas has become a season of giving in general, and it has become tradition to exchange gifts.
One can't possibly be so closed-minded as to assume the world will ignore all pre-Christian influence to current Christmas traditions, and blindly insist that they are now solely Christian acts/behaviors.... can they?
I put up a Christmas tree, I fill a stocking and buy my daughter a few gifts from Santa, and we spent the rest of our Christmas money on gifts for local children and seniors in our area (Angel Tree Program and things like that). We play 'Christian' and other Christmas music, because they are beautiful, just as I assume you do - a little Silent Night as well as a little Up On The Rooftop, no? We celebrate the winter season by playing in the snow, building fires, etc, just as you do, no? We feel the cheer and the giving feeling of the season just as you do, no? So what's the difference? Does it really matter?
Because is isn't a "Christian" holiday, and hasn't been for over 1000 years. Its roots are in Saturnalia.
According to the Bible, Jesus was born in September or October (they don't collect taxes in the dead of winter in Bethlehem, LOL! Neither are the sheep out in the fields!), so clearly any celebration on DEC25 can't be of Jesus' birth!
If I had to say such silly, desperate things to support my religious beliefs, I'd have at least an inkling that there was something seriously wrong with me.
Celebrating christmas has nothing to do with Christianity. Wake up and face reality, kid.
Evergreen trees, mistletoe, gift giving, and celebration at the end of December has been going on for centuries before Christianity has ever been dreamed of.
Atheists did not steal anything from Christianity, it's the other way around.
Get your nose in a history book, you might learn something.
Do I put up a Christmas tree ? You bet I do. I am Celtic by ethnicity. The evergreen perdates Christianity by many centuries. Why do you put up Pagan decorations ?
For the same reasons that Christians b***h about Christmas being commercialized and "Remember the Reason for the Season" How about you? Do you go to Mass on Christmas? Why not? Have you forgotten the name of the holiday?? Why do Protestants not go to Mass to remember the holiday? (Yes, I know the reason, but the logic of asking why Atheists celebrate a winter giving holiday that gives everyone a day off in our Christian dominated society is the same.)
After all, Christ was born in summer time (nobody called for travel in winter for a census) and we celebrate Christmas when we do because the Catholic Church wanted to co-opt the pagan winter solstice celebrations.
A christmas tree is part of your religious experience of christmas? That is odd, using a old pagan festival symbol for your christian holiday. Face it, christmas is not about the birth of Jesus. Christmas was decided upon as the birth date of Jesus to coincide with a pagan holiday in order to make conversion of the pagans to christianity easier. I do celebrate christmas as a time for family and friends, simple as that. There is no religious relevance for me what-so-ever.
Because it has become a social holiday. With very few people remembering that it celebrates the birth of Christ. As for ornaments and trees and all of that hoopla that was taken from Pagan religions so they would assimilate easier into the Christian faith it has nothing to do with God.
why do christian's celebrate christmas....didn't it originate as a pagan holiday....hmmmmm guess tradition get the best of us all.....
Mostly just to be polite. If someone says "Merry Christmas", or gives us a gift, we often reciprocate the gesture so we don't seem rude.
Well, tou know... Christmas REALLY isn't Jesus' birthday. They figure Jesus was REALLY born some time in April. But the early christians, trying to convert pagans at the point of the sword... tried to make conversion a LITTLE easier by adopting certain pagan holidays as part of christianity. In this case, christians cockroacked the Winter Solstace celebration... complete with decorated tree, yule log, holly, mistletoe, wreaths... and all the trimmings.
So... we just continue to celebrate our pagan holiday. Why are YOU celebrating a pagan holiday? Why don't you move your christ's birthday celebration to April, where it belongs?
April Fools Day would probably be a good choice.
Oh... and when you leave, please leave the decorated tree, yule log, holly, mistletoe, wreaths, and all the trimmings behind. Get your OWN danged christ stuff.
Because they don't really know what Christmas is all about and they are greedy and don't want to be left out.
Or they really believe in God and Jesus and don't really want to admit it.
Tradition. It's a mid-winter festival that was celebrated for thousands of years before Christianity was even invented. It has no religious significance.
WE ARE JUST ENJOYING WITH THEM.
i hope your joking
cause christmas has nothing to do with jesus
I am an atheist and do not celebrate christmas or any other religious holiday, but if someone says to me 'merry christmas' i say it back to be polite.
I don't want to be a part of the religious parts of it - I wouldn't go to a Christmas event that's religiously bent (ie, a Christmas Mass) - but its a fun time for the world.
Its hard not to get caught up in the excitement of the world buried underneath false cheer, Christmas in all the shops and (if we're lucky) snow.
Besides, it doesn't actually have a Christian significance, it was just re-arranged to become the celebration of the birth of Jesus. All evidence in the bible suggests that it was actually in Spring.
you do realise that christians stole the holiday from the pagans right?
Xmas trees have nothing to with christianity either
Aside from the name it's very easy to celebrate the holiday in a completely secular manner
I think that p!sses you off
mostly tradition than anything else. how many christians do you really think celebrate christmas because of God. who doesnt want to be with family giving gifts and eating food. Im not a pilgrim or an Indian but i sure love thanksgiving,dont you?
Did you know that Christmas, including the parties, trees, and even gifts--is an ancient winter solstice festival that has nothing to do with Jesus?
Why did Christians try to steal it?
If you are a Christian then why are you decorating a pagan tree and burning a pagan yule log and kissing under pagan mistletoe.
I love when naive Christians don't know where their "Christian" traditions came from...
HEY look at one of the other million times this question was asked.
It is a national holiday. As such we can do what we want with the time off. As it is not a particularly Christian holiday anyway, just a rehashed ancient pagan one, we have fun with it like anyone else. Not believing in fairy tales doesn't mean we don't like to play dress up at Halloween and give gifts at Christmas.
I celebrate on the day that Christians celebrate Christmas. But obviously my celebration has nothing to do with Christ, so technically I don't really celebrate Christmas. Gifts and parties have nothing to do with Jesus. Nor do trees, which were originally a Pagan symbol.
You trying to get us drunk before noon today?
I am going to tell you a secret. Everything we atheists do has one purpose: To confuse and confound all the believers in the Yahoo/Answers group! And judging from the questions we are asked a hundred times every day. we are succeeding admirably.
And we get to DRINK. too~
(Sarcasm)
The true meaning of Christmas is SO FAR out of wack it makes me sick - it's ALL about the money spent, who gets what, what I want, blah blah blah.... everyone MUST outdo everyone else!! Can you imagine how much harassing anyone (other than true Jewish) would get if they REFUSED to fall in to the commercialism game called Christmas?? If I did not have young kids at home, I would NOT celebrate societies version of Christmas!
Tradition, custom, and greed.
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