For people who don't believe in J.C. what is Christmas like if you still celebrate it?

Question

It is the old "taking Christ out of Christmas"...for those who do not believe in J.C. and so many of the Christmas songs are about Him, but yet you celebrate the season with your family...do you just skip the songs that talk about Him and only sing the Winter Wonderland, Rudolf, type songs?

I am not pressing my believes on anyone here...I am just simply asking for discussion and understanding purposes.

And in this 2nd part of the question..it doesn't matter if you believe in God or not....what is the Christmas Season about to you personally...

Batseries5 Question 2 of 5 (spiritual). I will ask a series of 5 questions a day for 5 days a week (psychological, spiritual, sexual, polls, and miscellaneous). Answer all 5 if you have time for a well rounded response. Have fun!

"Beliefs" yeah yeah yeah my grammar and spelling s u c ks....

And by the way....I am not getting into a debate over any of my spiritual related questions...I am just asking...5 questions a day one being spiritual.

I am willing to share my faith with anyone who is genuinely asking me, I never press my thoughts or beliefs on anyone....so don't email me behind the scenes trying to start a fight (I won't mention names)..

Answer 1

First part...I guess I can't answer..because I believe in the "reason for the season"....
Christmas is a time of celebrating LIFE!!! It is about speading joy and laughter, and good cheer!!! It is about GIVING...not so much "of gifts" but of your self and your time. It is about LOVE..love of family, friends, children, elderly, homeless, life...it is a time of HOPE of looking forward for a better world, a better life, a better tomorrow...fresh and new filled with wonder and excitement for all the things still left unseen...still left unknown...

It is a (fairly new!) family tradition... We have adopted a Nursing home in our area...NOT in the better part of town...but where we felt they had the biggest need...
We wnt to our local grocery store and got enough larger paper bags for each member of the home to have their own...then we sent those bags to school,and had the 5th grade class decorate these bags...(by the way...THEY are usually the best part! lol) so much of the childrens diverse personalities show in each bag!!! Then we wrap at least one present for each person (with their name on it) and fill the bag with other "goodies" like soap and shampoo and razors and shave cream, and combs and brushes and makeup and puzzle books and playing cards. and poker chips and dominoes and checkers, and hankerchiefs, and socks and lap blankets... We take a LARGE fruit basket for all to share. We go ON CHRISTMAS day..and gather the ones that are able to the meeting room and then we sing Christmas songs with them, and pass out their "bags"
ANd for the ones unable to gather...we walk down the halls and sing some more and visit each room and deliver THEIR "bag"...
It is SUCH a rewarding day!!!
The elderly folks are just so happy!!! They laugh and they cry!!! There are so many people there that have just been "put on the shelf" forgotten by loved ones...and just left to die...the nursing home gets their monthly check from the family and that's about it!!!
But what they don't realize...is what all they GIVE US!!!
If you EVER want to REALLY know what the TRUE meaning of CHRISTMAS is....Go visit a nursing home on Christmas!!! You don't even HAVE to BRING them any "gifts"...except ..
Your love and compassion!!! They will respond the same way they do to us!!!!

I believe that is 5 answers to 5 questions...Any more questions??? lol

Answer 2

You tried to asked a reasonable question...and got the usual unreasonable answers.

Does it make a difference if what we celebrate as Christmas comes around the same time as other celebrations? (there are many: pagan, hebrew, christian, and others)

The point may be that we choose to celebrate the birth of an historical person that many believe revealed a better way to relate to God and each other.

Over 1 billion persons world-wide also believe Jesus to be God chosing to enter His own creation.

Answer 3

I might not believe what the lyrics say, but lots of the songs are still beautiful. I like to listen to gospel music, also, clearly not for the message, but for the talented singers and lovely arrangements. You don't believe every song you sing, do you? I certainly don't believe the Rudolph and Santa songs, but sing them anyway.

Christmas is sharing with loved ones. The decorations are cute and gorgeous and fun. While I try to give at all times of the year, it is nice to have a designated time to make an extra effort to give and spend time with the people who matter to you.

Answer 4

Christmas is a fun holiday to me because you can get a bit creative and a bit spiritual. I sing great christmas songs and have a nice christmas dinner with my family and friends which is very important to me. And i have a question for you, Did you watch supernatural series tonight? If you did, well i have to admit even though it was a re-run it's still great.

Answer 5

OK, I recognize a couple of interfaith couples like this. If your husband hasn't changed, he demands to step as much as the plate or close up. If he is having you kosher the kitchen, good, he does must convert. And you are going to want 2 fridges, one for dairy, the opposite for meat. But each and every Christian/Jewish couple I recognize rejoice Christmas AND Hannukah, Easter AND Passover. It's referred to as mutual recognize. In Judaism, the kids are raised within the faith of the mum. If it isn't a Jewish womb, the ones youngsters don't seem to be Jewish. Period. So your youngsters will likely be raised Christian. Until one of these time as they are ancient sufficient to come to a decision what direction they wish to take. As a long way as ham is going, he does not ought to devour it, but when he forbids it within the residence and hasn't changed but, positioned your foot down. Also maintain in brain, you'll be able to run to the deli for a sandwich whilst he is not watching.

Answer 6

Well for your first question, I believe in Jesus. But, I am just trying to answer all 5 of your questions everyday....

I can add that I love Christmas, because it is the only time that our entire family feels whole. We go the whole year and some of us talk everyday, but it just isnt the same as the Holiday's. I love to see my children's eyes sparkle when they open presents. (I also get that feeling at birthdays :O)

What the season means to me is... family.

Answer 7

well christmas actually derived from a PAGAN holliday,

you can look up history of christmas, yule, winter solstice, saturnalia and constantine for more information on it...
(giving presents, the tree, hanging of holly and mistletoe, are all pagan traditions from this celebration; and this was dated for dec. 25th - which any biblical scholar will tell you christ was NOT born in december or even january)


today christmas is a national holliday that people, regardless of faith, spend with their family and loved ones.

anyhow thats like me asking why u celebrate st. patricks day, or valentines day, or other days such as those.

Answer 8

Well, we never really focused on religion. Christmas, to me, was about decorating the Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving, about being with my family, and laughing as we remembered the past. It was about watching my ma's face closely, so that if her face lit up when she saw that special gift, I knew to by that for her.

At the time, I didn't know who Jesus was. Nor did I really care. I just...knew what it made me feel, and that was loved.

So, to answer your question, What is Christmas like if I don't believe in Jesus? Well, the same as yours, I'd imagine. It feels...

Magical.

Answer 9

Sure - do you celebrate St. Valentines day even though you're not a catholic? And what are the meanings of St. Valentines Day to you if you don't remember the saint? I suspect you have accepted the cultural meaning of the holiday ("love") and not the religious one regarding the Saint.

Ok, now replace you with me - and substitute Valentines Day for Christmas. Same thing.

We concentrate on the secular side of things. We sing a mix of songs, religous and not religous. For me personally its about giving - not just to my family and friends but to strangers. It's about bringing out the best in people.

Answer 10

The True Roots of Christmas
If one researches the roots of the festivals still held as custom by the people of the Western world, it is not difficult to recognize the obvious Pagan roots of virtually all holidays held to be "Christian" today. It is still relatively easy to uncover the Heathen truth, hidden not far, underneath the Judeo-Christian veil of lies and historical distortion. All elements of which could not be tortured, killed, or otherwise extirpated from the Pagan populations of medieval Europe, and which did not dissolve of their own inadequacy, were assimilated by the Church. This process lives on in modern practices.

"Christmas" is actually the Yule celebration of Pre-Christian Europe, its "Twelve Days" denoting the period from the Winter Solstice to the New Year. This fact is conveniently overlooked by almost all Christians who sing the Pagan songs, decorate the Pagan tree, and tell their children about the Pagan Kris Kringle—while ostensibly celebrating the "birth of Jesus". The Church even attempted to steal the Pagan gift-giver Kris Kringle by changing him into "Saint Nicholas", but the assimilation never came about. Kris Kringle is still recognized in Holland, where he is said to come from Spain (thus the Spanish nomenclature of the Christian attempted theft: Santa Claus ) to the Netherlands on the 5th of December to deliver presents to good children.

The decorated evergreen tree is a symbol of Life Eternal, even amidst the dead of mid-winter, and was called by ancient Germanic tribes the World Tree or Tree of Life, Yggsdrasil, with its roots in the underworld and its branches amongst the stars—hence the star atop most Yule trees, sometimes replaced by an "angel". No stretch of the imagination can link the "Son of God" born in a manger in the middle-east with this ancient symbol.

The mistletoe is a fertility symbol, sacred to the Druids, because it grows green on the sacred oak in winter. The juice of its berries bears a resemblance to human semen, and Pagan Europe symbolically attributed to it regenerative powers—thus the kiss under the mistletoe.

Between Halloween and the New Year, ancient traditions taught that the barrier between the world and the underworld are thinnest. It is for this reason that the colors of Yule are red and green: red has always been the color attributed to the God of War (Apollo, Mars, Thor, Aries, Osiris ), and green has always been attributed to the Chthonic God (Dionysos, Iormigundr, Pan, Apophis), and together this symbolism is the primordial root of the ancient concepts of "Blood and Soil".

December 25th is not the birthdate of Jesus of Nazareth1; Jesus' birthdate is unknown, and nearly all scholars East and West agree it was likely in the spring, or possibly the Fall. December 25th is the birthday ofMithras,the Pagan Solar God of Persian origination, born on the day celebrated by the ancients as the Winter Solstice. The Cult of Mithras was so powerful within theRoman Legions at the time the Church was solidifying its power over Rome that the Church destroyed the Mithrasian temples, raised Churches on their very foundations, and then assimilated all the symbology in order to bring about a gradual conversion.

It was in Mithrasian temples that the Priest was first called "Father". It was there that theritual called the "Last Supper" was first performed, including the taking of bread and wine as the body and blood of Mithras. It was in the Mithrasian temples that a God was celebrated on Sun-day, in tribute to a Solar God, as opposed to the Christian practice of celebrating the Sabbath Day—the Seventh Day of Genesis, when Yahweh rested. How or why the "seventh" day celebration for Christians came to be held on the first day of the week— the "day of the Conquering Sun"----- remains a "mystery" to modern Christians.

To genuine scholars, however, ("Christian scholar" is an oxymoron ) it is no mystery—the Church arrogated the day of the "rebirth" of Mithras as the "birthdate of Jesus" in 375 CE at the Council of Antioch.Thereafter, all hymns about the birth of the Sun were changed to hymns about the birth of the "Son". The Jews know this, which is why they still celebrate the Sabbath on the correct day, as do Muslims, who believe in Jesus but only as a prophet2 and not one born on the Winter Solstice.

I celebrate Yule, for the fun of it. It's a time to have fun and spend more time with the ones I love. It's a great time to show people how much they mean to you. Not to mention the food is fantastic.