Why do non-religious people celebrate christmas?

Question

I don't believe in God / Jesus and all that but I still have a big celebration at Christmas with lots of pressies and a party.

Why do I do that?

Answer 1

Just being social. People do not like to be isolated and not share in the fun. Xmas is more tradition than it is religion.

Answer 2

Christmas celebrates the birth of Christ but the date of the celebration has less to do with that and more to do with the Pagan winter festival celebrated on the Winter Solstice.

I would say it's almost 'natural' for people to celebrate at this time because the nights start to become shorter and the days longer. So perhaps on a sub-conscious level there is a need to mark this time and what better way than a celebration? Of course on a conscious level, when everyone else is having a good time you either tend to get caught up in the mood too, or you can go the other way and reject it all, but i guess it's human nature to go with the crowd.
You certainly don't have to believe in Jesus to celebrate that time of year - that time of the yearly cycle, the solstice, has been happening millions of years longer than the Christian festival, so maybe it is deeply ingrained in the human psyche.

That's my thought anyway!
Happy Winter Solstice!

Answer 3

I guess that you do it because everybody else does and it is a public holiday.

Personally, I think it is good that Christmas is a public holiday because it is the only season in the year when a lot of children get to hear about God and Jesus. If their parents don't believe, then they are unlikely to tell their children. But the children have the right to make their own decision and Christmas Carols, plays and such like, all give them the opportunity to hear about God and Jesus

Answer 4

confirmity.

I'm an athiest but its jsut as easy to go along with the parties and stuff.

I notice you mention parties and pressies, these have nothing to do with the religous festival anyway.

If you said you join in with going to church or something that would be a valid question. But you're not talking about religious activities anyway.

tree8588 is plainly wrong, you are not a hypocrite. You would be a hypocrite if you went to church and pretended to celebrate christmas as a christian. You're just joining in having a good time, don't bother to analyse it - let the fanatics do that for you.

Answer 5

I'm not the best person to answer as I am a practicing Catholic but I'm guessing you (or your parents) were raised in a Christian family and its just what you do in December. Either that or you live in a Christian country and decided you didn't want to be left out. Either way it is entirely up to you.

The beauty of a free society is that you are free to believe and celebrate whatever you like, as long as it doesn't cause offence or hurt to others (thats the Christian in me talking!)

Whatever the reason feel free to enjoy yourself :) For my part, as long as I'm at midnight Mass on Christmas Eve, I'll enjoy my Christmas. This I know as I had to work last Christmas day and didn't feel like I missed out as I still had the most important part to me.

Happy Christmas

Answer 6

I don't know why you do that. But, if it makes you feel any better about it, read on:

From Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia Standard 2004 - CHRISTMAS

II - Origins of Christmas

Historians are unsure exactly when Christians first began celebrating the Nativity of Christ. However, most scholars believe that Christmas originated in the 4th century as a Christian substitute for pagan celebrations of the winter solstice. Before the introduction of Christmas, each year beginning on December 17 Romans honored Saturn, the ancient god of agriculture, in a festival called Saturnalia. This festival lasted for seven days and included the winter solstice, which usually occurred around December 25 on the ancient Julian calendar. During Saturnalia the Romans feasted, postponed all business and warfare, exchanged gifts, and temporarily freed their slaves. Many Romans also celebrated the lengthening of daylight following the winter solstice by participating in rituals to glorify Mithra, the ancient Persian god of light. These and other winter festivities continued through January 1, the festival of Kalends, when Romans marked the day of the new moon and the first day of the month and year.

Although the Gospels describe Jesus' birth in detail, they never mention the date, so historians do not know on what date he was born. The Roman Catholic Church chose December 25 as the day for the Feast of the Nativity in order to give Christian meaning to existing pagan rituals. For example, the Church replaced festivities honoring the birth of Mithra, the god of light, with festivities to commemorate the birth of Jesus, whom the Bible calls the light of the world. The Catholic Church hoped to draw pagans into its religion by allowing them to continue their revelry while simultaneously honoring the birthday of Jesus. The Eastern Orthodox Church took a slightly different course. By the end of the 4th century the Eastern Church in Constantinople had also begun to acknowledge December 25 as Jesus' birthday, but it emphasized the celebration of Christ's baptism on January 6 as the more important holiday.

( part skipped)

During the Reformation of the 16th century, Protestants challenged the authority of the Catholic Church, including its toleration of surviving pagan traditions during Christmas festivities. For a brief time during the 17th century, Puritans banned Christmas in England and in some English colonies in North America because they felt it had become a season best known for gambling, flamboyant public behavior, and overindulgence in food and drink.

VI - Religious Practice and Popular Customs

The Bible provides no guidelines that explain how Christmas should be observed, nor does it even suggest that it should be considered a religious holiday. Because of the lack of biblical instructions, Christmas rituals have been shaped by the religious and popular traditions of each culture that celebrates the holiday.

**There is much more to the article, and please forgive the length of this answer. But I just wanted you to realize that in essence Christmas is a secular, not religious holiday. Enjoy it as such. All "Christians" who have done any biblical study should know that not only does the bible not state when Christ was born, but according to the biblical accounts he was born during a "census", which occurred during the spring and early summer because of ease of travel of the participants. This is historical fact.

Answer 7

Mainly because Christmas has nothing to do with Jesus.

Jesus (Joshua Bar Joseph) went on about "Forgiveness", and this message has been bastardised by the Christians as a Celebration manufactured in Jesus's name, hence the term "Christmas is For Giving" (pressies and parties), the term should read "Christmas is Forgiving".

The Catholic Church will not correct this misinterpretation of the Word, because they are making too much damned money out of it all...

Answer 8

Because it is tradition. I am also an atheist, but I love Christmas. It is a time when you can be with your family. Like me, you were probably raised in a religious environment, and Christmas becomes tradition. The lights are beautiful, the music is great, the message of love and compassion is wonderful--why would you not be inclined to celebrate this holiday?

Answer 9

Christmas in its original form was not religious. There was a period during the Middle Ages when the Church banned celebration of Yule (the predecessor of Christmas) because it was Pagan. Then they figured the only way to convert everyone was to borrow local customs and modify them to suit their purposes. Thus the religion of Christmas originated. Then it was banned again in the Colonial times by the Puritans for the exact same reasons.

That said, non-religious folks have every right to celebrate Christmas if they so choose and no one has the right to take that away from them.

Answer 10

Christmas isn't about Jesus anymore. It is about the single largest retail sales month of the year. Even most Christians spend way more time dealing with presents, shopping, traveling, worrying, than they do in prayer or in church. And on average spend 20 times more money on gifts and decorations than the give to the church during the month of December and almost 11/2 times the amount they give the church in a given year.

You go ahead and celebrate Christmas, You don't have to believe in God to believe in Santa.

Answer 11

Because we live in a society of traditions. Our ancestors who were religious celebrated it so we too celebrate it. I am religious though. Our political and law systems are also built on traditions. Plus I don't think anyone is going to cancel christmas because we all like getting presents , its a boost to the economy and if u did little children would cry.