Maybe I'm not understanding what an atheists is?
2007-01-04 06:23:53 · 43 answers · asked by jazzabell00 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Atheism has about as much to do with Christmas as Jesus does....Christmas started as a pagan holiday. I mean you don't believe in Santa yet you still Celebrate right?
2007-01-04 06:26:41 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 9⤊ 2⤋
Christ was born in the summer. Christmas is based on the celebration of the winter solstice in the Roman Empire in which gifts were exchanged. Most religions, cultures, and empires built themselves on the foundations set by previous ones.
Atheists celebrate the same reason some Jews do. It's fun and one day of gifts is easier than 8 days for lots of people. Incidentally, Christmas was originally a twelve day celebration with 12 days of gifts but it was whittled down to one to make life easier. That's how the song originated.
2007-01-05 07:03:58 · answer #2 · answered by Breandan 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A good honest question! (sorry my answer is so long)
First off, Christmas is was originally a pagan holiday based on the rebirth of the pagans gods after the solstice. The Christmas tree, Santa and the idea of giving gifts are all stolen from the pagans
An atheist is someone who does not believe in god.
Honestly, I think you misunderstand the meaning x-mas more than you misunderstand what an atheist is.
Christmas is being good to your fellow man, spending time with family and getting an excuse to send out cards to old friends. That's why I celebrate it.
-- An Atheist
Hope this helps ;-)
2007-01-04 06:32:08 · answer #3 · answered by A 6 · 3⤊ 1⤋
An atheist is simply a person who does not believe in Gods.
Many people celebrate holidays for which they do not believe in the popular myths surrounding those holidays. I know lots of people who celebrate Halloween who don't believe in witches or Ghosts. Many more celebrate Christmas even though they don't believe presents are delivered by a Fat Man in a red suit pulled by a team of flying deer. Others celebrate Ground Hogs day but lack the conviction that Ground Hogs can make climatic predictions.
2007-01-04 06:30:01 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
First of all, it's a tradition that many grew up with.
Second, every culture has a celebration of the Winter Solstice and and of year, so it's a good time for a celebration.
The story of the birth of Jesus is a beautiful one, full of hope for the future, generousity, humility, that are really humanist ideals which are independent of a belief in a diety. These humanist ideals are more important than any theological reason for celebration, as the birth of Jesus is insignificant to Christianity compared to his death and resurection.
To me, it is a story that says EVERY birth is a wonder and EVERY baby has the possibility of becoming a great and important person, no matter how humble their origins.
What’s wrong with celebrating that?
2007-01-04 06:35:57 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Christmas is the birthday of Mithras, a Christlike messiah who lived 600 years before Jesus. I think a better question would be why do Christians celebrate the December 25th pagan holiday?
2007-01-04 06:36:13 · answer #6 · answered by Sweetchild Danielle 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Because Christmas has nothing to do with religion anymore. It is simply a ritualistic time between Thanksgiving and the end of the year when people crowd into stores to buy gift cards for people they don't know or even like that much.
You want to try explaining where God is while waiting in line? How does Jesus feel about Tickle Me Elmo? Did Pro-Lifers step in before the first Playstation 3 shooting? God is mysteriously absent from even his own son's holiday; why is that?
It's just another holiday where people get time off from work to spend with their families, and everyone deserves that.
2007-01-04 06:32:04 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
Simple, "christmas" to me is an excuse to visit with family (while managing to get time of work, hehe). I don't believe christmas to be... blah blah jesus... whatever, i believe it to be a celebration of family and it just so happened to be called christmas when i was little so it stuck, holidays are what you make them and not what society tells you they are. Do christians celebrate halloween? Well, okay, some of the crazy ones condemn it but most do because they have made that holiday a return to chlildhood etc... every holiday is open to personal interpretation
"what's your policy on Columbus day?"
-we work
"Really? I'm afraid to ask about surrender of Japan day"
-Dupree
2007-01-04 06:31:07 · answer #8 · answered by Cale Black 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Christmas isn't particularly religious, it's really mostly about gift giving now a days anyway. To answer your question, Christmas used to be a pegan holiday called saturnalleus, the christians changed it into christmas by saying that jesus had been born in december, yet from what the bible depicts jesus was most likely born in the spring. Christmas isn't the slightest bit religious and it never has been, it's only been coated in religion by christians so that they could get control over it.
2007-01-04 06:28:12 · answer #9 · answered by Scott Justice 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Ask Macy's, Walmart. Sears
It is a national holiday......kid like gifts
Most holiday money spent goes to gifts, decorations, and parties..not to Christian Churches and functions
If you were a Christian in China......would you not celebrate the Chinese New Years.....it is a national holiday........even though your own religion does not support the "year of the dog" or what ever animal it honors that year
Why do exchange student partake in Thanksgiving when they stay in the USA or Americans partake in Boxer Day when they stay in Britain..............national holidays
BTW....Jesus was born in April.....why do Christan celebrate in the wrong season.........many Christan are not Catholic.....whose leaders choose that day to replace a pagan festival...that was popular 2000 years ago
You can not live in a Christian country and not have Xmas in your life.......same thing for religious holidays if your lives in a Hindu, Buddhist, Muslin country or Israel....
Seems like your question was put a put down.....it gives thinking Christians a bad name....ones that are aware that most the world is not Christian.....many places where Christan have to live in minority status
.if you ever get the opportunity to travel.....your mind would be more open as to how people live in a society where they are not in the majority.....including Christians throughout the world
2007-01-04 06:47:40 · answer #10 · answered by Jonathan L 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
They celebrate Christmas ,because Christmas doesn't have anything to do with Jesus or God. Christmas in modern society is about getting presents not the born of Jesus Christ.
2007-01-04 06:33:11 · answer #11 · answered by patricia w 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋