Do Athiests celebrate Christmas? If so, why.?

Question

Dec. 31st may not be Christs original birthday, but Christ is the basis of modern day Christmas. It may have started out pagan but it definately ended up as a Christian holiday. If it is not about Christ, why are there manger's and songs about the birth of Christ and stars and angels on top of christmas trees? I asked this question because inquiring minds want to know why people that don't believe in God or Jesus would celebrate his birth. I am not saying that is a bad thing. I don't think asking this questions warranats me being called a nut job.

I meant Dec 25th - you know what I meant. But...I made a mistake and you caught me in the act. Good job.

Re: Christmas being pagan. We all know that the reason to celebrate modern day Christmas is the birth of Christ (to most people) hence the word CHRIST-mas.

Pagan worship may have been on Dec 25th thousands of years ago, but today, most people notice it as Christmas. For those who don't believe in Christ or that Christmas is to celebrate his birth and if you celebrate it as a pagan holiday, do you say "Merry CHRISTmas"? or "Hapy Solstice"? When you say Christmas you ARE acknowledging the celebration of Christ's birth.

Answer 1

I'm not going to try to claim that I celebrate it because it actually has pagan origins, or anything like that. The truth of the matter is, I celebrate it because I grew up a believer, and Christmas was a wonderful, special, fun holiday for me as a child. I didn't want to give up the fun and the time with family. Even after I stopped believing, I still wanted to celebrate, and my ideas changed from it being a religious holiday, to being a celebration of love and family. Also, the majority of my family are still Christians, so Christmas is still CHRISTmas to them, and I know it means a lot to them for me to be included in their celebrations.

Answer 2

Since the Christian Bible forbids the use of a pagan holiday, such as Nativitae Sol Invictus (the "birthday" of the Babylonian "sungod," Mithra (Dec 25), it is a sin for Christians to celebrate Christmas. See Deuteronomy 12.

This being the case, Atheists have more reason to celebrate Christmas than Christians do.

Besides, we know when Messiah was born on the Hebrew/Biblical calendar and there is already a biblical Holy Day on that day that Jews observe. So, the only reason for not celebrating on the correct day, in the biblically correct manner, is anti-Semitism. Some racist 1600 years ago abolished Holy Dayd found in the Christian Bible because the Jews were celebrating them too. Now, centuries later, people who oppose racism are doing things that their Bible forbids, commiting sins, because dead guys hated Jews.

A question for Christians: What do you love more: god or man-made traditions?

Answer 3

My reasons are similar to Catherine E's. I was raised Christian, so it's natural that since I didn't "officially" consider myself an Atheist until my late teens (not a rebellion thing, I felt like one long before I started using the term) I'd still celebrate the same way I've done all my life.

Being the lone Atheist among my Christian family, as well as being too poor to move out on my own, it would be a little silly of me to seclude myself in my room all day and ask people to come back to visit me on a non-religious day. Besides, the day I turn down turkey and my late nana's dressing, is the day everyone can safely assume I've been replaced by a pod person.

I also enjoy the warm fuzzies I get from blaring cheesy old Christmas music while decorating the tree with my younger sister, or helping mom in the kitchen.

Edited to address wendy08010, who unfortunately doesn't allow email- "I just don't like non-Christians celebrating and calling it CHRISTmas." What, then, should we call it? Most Christians get offended if the term "Happy Holidays" is uttered instead, saying that it's being used to remove Christ. So, what ARE we allowed to say?

Reply to me via email if you wish.

Answer 4

Sorry, all of those traditions are Pagan in nature. There have been many Pagan godmen born on December 25th... great men lead by stars to the birthplace... the child being in a manger...

So my question would be, why does anyone but a Pagan celebrate Christmas. Just because Christians later used the holiday as their own, doesn't mean it started with them.

Answer 5

Your CHRIST-mas objection assumes that everybody is English speaking. In Dutch it is "kerstmis" so no CHRIST there and that goes for a lot of languages. The main reason for the assimilation of this pagan holiday by the Christians was that just about every culture was having a party around that date anyway and having the returning of the light associated with the birth of
Christ probably made them clinch the deal.

Answer 6

So, you think that Dec. 31 is Christmas!?? This makes about as much sense as saying as you do that Christians stole the holiday fair and square, and even though the odds are much less than 1% that Christmas falls on Jesus' birthday, it is their holiday now. Well, you are wrong. Christmas is not a christian holiday. It is a marketing holiday, and marketers do not care what religion the people who celebrate it are.

Answer 7

I celebrate Christmas. It's a great time to get together with family.

Why do Christians celebrate Christmas? I hope you are aware that it's originally a pagan holiday and has nothing to do with the birth of Jesus.

Answer 8

I certainly do...it was a pagan holiday to begin with...why are christians celebrating pagan holidays like Christmas and Easter? Christmas trees, holly, reindeer, Santa Claus have nothing to do with the birth of Jesus...just as chocolate bunnies and colored eggs have nothing to do with his death....

edit - Dec 31st, huh? Do you not even know the correct date of your *religious holy day*???

Answer 9

It bothers me that a lot of athiest do, but I think it is our fault as Christians that we have let our holiday become so secularized that some people don't even realize that it is a religious holiday, and the even the name of it comes from the religious services it was originally Christ's Mass. The mass held in commemoration of the birth of Christ. If non Christians want to have a day to hang out with family and get gifts, then I think it should be a completely different day, like Yuletide or Winter Solstice whatever the name of the original winter holiday was that was celebrated before the Catholic church decided to celebrate Christ's birth at that time of year. I wouldn't even care if they made the holiday the same day, I just don't like non-Christians celebrating and calling it CHRISTmas.

Answer 10

You knew I was thirsty.

Margarita on the rocks with no salt.

Maybe they like to celebrate the birthday of Mithras, or the pagan holiday of Winter Solstice.

Maybe they just like to get together with friends and family.

Gee, ya think?