Why do athiests still want and recieve Christmas gifts?

Question

If you do not believe in Christ, why do you accept the christmas gifts, or eat christmas ham, or are the first one to get plastered at the office Christmas party?

Answer 1

I like to give more than receive.
Pigs are delicious.
I don't drink.

Answer 2

LOL! Tell me, when exactly was the last time Chistmas was fully and ONLY a religious practice? I doub the transition point can be pinpointed in history, yet these practices - decried in the bible, BTW (see the part about erecting Christrmas trees)

Christmas practices come from older practices of many different religions, existing long before Christianity came into being.

It's not even the date of Jesus's birth, but an adaptation by the early church incorporating Yule and other Roman religious holidays from that time of year. All of the church "holidays" are adaptations from older practices, in order to get people comfortable with Christianity and it's practices, and to up the church attendance.

Today, Christmas is a commercial, secular entity that has nothing at all to do with religion.

Answer 3

Christmas has grown out of the holiday it spawned. It's no longer limited to Christianity, because it's become a celebration of sharing, togetherness, family, and thanksgiving.

Don't you think Christ would want people to do right by their fellow man, even if it wasn't because they were doing it for him? Jesus Christ celebrated being human, and celebrating his birth is celebrating what it means to be human. Christmas has grown from the celebration of the birth of the perfect human, to the celebration that we could someday be like him, that we could someday be as good at being a human being as he was.

Even if they're not consciously making that distinction, when atheists participate in the holiday, they're celebrating that part of the idea of Jesus the human that we all possess, which is brotherhood, and good will.

Jews can accept Christmas presents from Christians, just as Christians can accept Hanukkah gifts from Jews, can they not? The two are not participating in each others faiths as much as they are celebrating humanity on an even level. So it is with atheists and Christians, or Christians and agnostics, or Jews and Muslims, or Hindus and Pagans.

Answer 4

People of most religions, when living in the western world, celebrate christmas and give gifts. It is not a Christian-only tradition.

There is nothing to stop an atheist wanting to wish other people well, and give generously. You sadly, have no comprehension of the issue, and are probably of the belief that only Christians can have ethics?

An atheist is quite capable of respecting Christian traditions and behaving accordingly, without having to believe. This is simply common respect. Christians don't hold a monopoly on this.

Remember, December 25th was a pagan holiday predating Christianity by several hundred years, and Constantine decreed that Christians have a celebration on that date.

Answer 5

Because Christmas has become a holiday that even non-religious people celebrate. It's a time to see your relatives, have good, home-cooked food, give gifts, put up lights, etc.

Halloween and easter are also religious holidays that are celebrated by almost everyone (in USA anyway).

You sound pissed. Haha. I am an Atheist and with how extraordinary that time of year is for me, I very well may enjoy Christmas more than you do.

Answer 6

Ha ha ----It is funny, isnt it that Christmas has continued for two thousand years, even though Satan has continued to fight him all the way to putting him on the cross in the first place to denigrating him today as (this)(that) (and the other thing). Do "atheists" celebrate christmas, and say "god bless" when somebody sneezes, and say "no work on Sunday (forgetting why we honor Sunday, the first day of the week). The ground we walk on comes from God, and the legs we use to walk on it also. Yet some will say he doesnt exist. God patiently waits and bears all. But the laws of God are more lasting than the laws of physics. And will outlast everything.

Answer 7

History lesson: Christmas was originally a pagan festival, some say it to be the Roman "Saturnalia", which Christianity adapted as its own festival when the popes of early Christianity fixed Jesus' birthday on the month of December (for Roman Catholicism, that is). As Christianity developed as a fundamentalist religion and spread over the surrounding country, some of the habits and customs of the converted people were assimilated into the Christmas tradition. For example, Yuletide logs and mistletoes.

Now who are we to bar other people from celebrating Christ's party? I see nothing wrong if they receive gifts for I believe that they also deserve it just as everyone deserves it. In fact, I believe that Jesus would even welcome them. When it is Christmas, one shouldn't ask who is Christian or not nor who is sinful or not; one should just spread the love and the joy. Isn't that what Jesus wants us to do? "Love thy neighbor as thyself".

Answer 8

Christmas was originally a pagan celebration of the Winter Solstice.. Isn't a more appropriate question why do you want Winter Solstice gifts when christianity stole the holiday from pagans..

Knowing history can help make a persons questions relevant rather than biased and irrelevant..

Answer 9

Because that part of Christmas has more of a pagan background. Christmas as celebrated by most of us is no differnt than the Sabbat Yule. Look it up. And for heaven sake if you get the athiest in you office secret santa get him a gift, its the nice thing to do!!

Answer 10

Christmas has a social and commercial aspect that has nothing to do with religous observance. Many irreligious people have a christmas celebration and exchange gifts and have a tree, have Santa come, etc. and not even mention the baby Jesus.

Answer 11

In case you haven't noticed, Christmas anymore isn't exactly based around Jesus etc. Is it so wrong to give gifts to people that matter to you and hang around and have a good time on the same day as everyone else?