Do Pagans celebrate Christmas?

Question

Or Easter, the 4th of July, New Years Eve.. If not what are there holidays and can some explain them a little
Christmas- Birth of Christ- kids open presents
Easter- Passover -kids hunt eggs

Answer 1

We celebrate Winter Solstice, December 21, the first day of winter. Easter was originally Ostara, or Oester, a pagan festival which celebrates the coming of spring and new life and all the wonderful things associated with spring time! The 4th of July is a secular holiday and is not specifically associated with paganism or any other religion that I know of. Pagans celebrate it or not as patriotism or love of fireworks may move us. New Years Eve is about the same for pagans, but the original new year was the Winter Solstice, the day when the daylight hours get longer. The original calendar was 13 months with roughly 28 days per month. Winter Solstice was the end of the calendar year by that calendar.

Great Question!

Bright Blessings,
Lady Morgana )0(.

Answer 2

My pagan friends celebrate Yule or Solstice. It's a few days before Christmas (which actually happens on the feast day of Saturnalia and I also think there's one to Mithra). The 4th of July and New Years Eve are secular holidays. Nothing religious about them. There is also a spring festival that falls around the time of Easter and Passover, but the name escapes me at the moment. You see, Christianity took over a lot of Pagan holidays to try to convert them.

Answer 3

I celebrate Christmas (it is a Pagan holiday), New Years (how you think THAT is a "Christian" holiday is beyond me), 4th of July (that isn't a "Christian" holiday, either), Memorial Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, and, of course HALLOWEEN.

I also celebrate the Seasons, bless the Seven Directions, and honor the Gods and Godesses. Oh, and I do moon rituals and a few other things.

EDIT: I have never met a Jewish person who went on an Easter Egg Hunt for Passover. That doesn't happen.

Hint: you need to understand your holidays before you ask questions about them.

Answer 4

You asked what the Pagan Holidays are
Here they are :
Samhain -Oct 31 It is generally celebrated on October 31st, but some traditions prefer November 1st. It is one of the two "spirit-nights" each year, the other being Beltane.


Imbolc- Feb 2- also called Oimealg, ("IM-mol'g), by the Druids, is the festival of the lactating sheep. It is derived from the Gaelic word "oimelc" which means "ewes milk". Herd animals have either given birth to the first offspring of the year or their wombs are swollen and the milk of life is flowing into their teats and udders. It is the time of Blessing of the seeds and consecration of agricultural tools. It marks the center point of the dark half of the year.

Beltane-April 30
Lughnasadh -June 31
Yule- Dec 21
Ostara -- Spring or The Vernal Equinox
Also known as: Lady Day or Alban Eiler -March 21
Litha- June 21

Mabon
Autumn Equinox, 2nd Harvest, September 21st

While I don't celebrate for all of them, some do. And if you realey look up the orgins of Christmas and Easter as you know them, you will find Pagan roots in them.

To see more on the Pagan Holidays see link
http://www.wicca.com/celtic/akasha/holindex.htm

Answer 5

Look up the Roman Saturnalia and Eostar. Christmas and Easter were originally Pagan holidays.

But in answer to your question, I celebrate Christmas with my mother and father. My mom is Christian, I would say my dad is Deist as he believes something is there, but that's as far as the belief goes. I personally celebrate Yule (Dec 21st) with my husband and son. I celebrate each turning of the seasons, mostly just to recognize the change and to get ready for what the season brings... spring is planting season while fall is harvesting, etc.... Yule is for eating a lot of food *wink* and the Summer Solstice, well, we don't do much for that because it's usually too damn hot outside. I recognize certain Esbats (do a search to understand... some are too lengthy even for me to put here). Just like with Christmas, I celebrate Easter with my mom and dad, but celebrate Eostar, which usually falls on a different date, but holds almost all of the same traditions... we just don't believe Jesus resurrected as Eostar is a holiday which was The Resurrection of the earth itself. ^_^

Answer 6

I am a pagan, and yes I love celebrating all holidays as in Christmas, easter, 4th of july, and new years eve.

Answer 7

As you can see, there are many different pagan paths and beliefs so we don't all celebrate the same holidays at the same times.

In my family, we celebrate:
Samhain- first week in November. It's the beginning of our new year (actually, new half-year). Preparations for winter are finished. We especially honor our ancestors.
Imbolg- first week in February. A time to look forward to spring. We especially honor the goddess Brighid.
Bealtaine-first week in May. We celebrate the beginning of the new half-year. The weather has turned warm and we are busy planting and look forward to a lush garden.
Lughnasadh-first week in August. We celebrate the first harvest and give offerings to Lugh from the harvest. We usually go out and play simple games outside like badminton, volleyball, miniture golf, frisbee, etc.

We also celebrate non-religious holidays throughout the year such as birthdays, anniversaries, national days like Independence day, Labor Day, and Memorial day. We are very patriotic and these days have a lot of meaning to us. We celebrate Thanksgiving because we are very grateful for our blessings. We also celebrate New Years because it is the beginning of a new calendar year.

We don't celebrate the religious holidays of religions that we don't practice. That just doesn't make much sense to us. So we don't celebrate Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist, etc. holidays. I think we have enough to celebrate as it is!

Answer 8

Christmas = Yule
Easter = Ostara
4th of July and New Years = not religious
Look em up and learn

Answer 9

I celebrate all usual statuary holidays (christmas, easter, new years...) except 4th of July because I'm canadian. I also celebrate holidays called Sabbats.

Answer 10

not all pagans are alike but some are
yule (near christmas or winter solstice)
lammas
beltane (mayday)
sawhein (halloween)
oester (near easter)
the cycle of seasons and when the earth's seasons change usually are the basis for their holidays. usually rituals and ceremonies on holidays.
equinoxes