Why would any atheist celebrate Christmas?

Question

I have never met one that has not celebrated it. I personally don't as I am one of Jehovah's Witnesses and Jesus was not born on that date and in the Bible there is not one time Jesus ever celebrated anyone's B-day, not even his own.

To me, a person that does not believe in God at all should stay away from anything to do with anything supposedly Christian.

For those of you that have said that it's not a Christian holiday as it has pagan beginnings, I fully agree. This is the reason Witnesses do not celebrate it.

It is concidered Christian but is truely not. SO, therefore false. But so many Christians still think it's his B-day. Go figure. Like there's this mental block and they don't want to let it go.

I know so many think Jesus was born in the spring. As God did make sure we know the month, day, date, time and Jesus' age of 33&1/2 years old and the month back then is around March/April of our calendar, counting backwards the 33 years and 6 months, that would bring his birth to Sept/Oct. More likely Sept. as the shepards were in the fields at night and the temps at night were warmer.

"M". Where did I say I did't want anyone else to do so? You are reading something into it that I didn't say.
I said the reason I don'tcelebrate it. I just want to understand why anyone that doesn't believe in God, the Almighty, would want to take part in a so called Christian holiday.

Answer 1

My guess would be greed so they can reap gifts and money from people who believe because I do not think there is an actual athiest holiday indecember and if there were it would be called something like athiesmas. It comes during winter solstice and is called yule pagan holidays rock.
Hope this helps

Answer 2

LONG before Christianity the agrarian society (people who planted and harvested food) celebrated the birth of the SUN in the sky.

When the first time piece was invented the people noticed that the days started getting shorter after harvest. The society of people thought they would perish because the SUN was disappearing from the sky. After the Solstice they noticed that the days started to get longer again and so they celebrated the BIRTH OF THE SUN IN THE SKY. Their saviour.

They planned a celebration every year with decorated trees and wreaths. They had big feasts with family and friends from the bounty of the harvest. They gave gifts to loved ones and friends, it was a very merry time of year. They never forgot that were it not for the SUN they would have perished. Joy, Peace and Love dominated this special time of the year.

2000 years ago Christians dictated their own version of events and coveted many of the agrarians customs. Apparently there were some typos and SUN in the sky now became SON in the sky.

The fighting hasn't stopped since.

The spring equinox is the re-birth of the SUN in the sky. Christians refer to it as the birth of the SON in the sky. It is a bit off-putting when Christians lay claim to something that MOTHER Earth gave life too.

So it is not the Pagans that you should question about their celebrations. Go tell the Christians that we want our holiday back.

Peace.

Answer 3

I celebrate good morals, and everyone else around me celebrates the holiday anyway. When I was younger, it was not my fault for not knowing my religious stance or the fact that it celebrates Jesus's birthday to Christians. (Besides, wasn't there something claiming that his birthday was more likely in September or so, due to descriptions in the Bible at his time of birth? I dunno.)

But since there's already vacation time for it from most businesses, I take advantage of the time-period to celebrate the changing of seasons, to enjoy the snow cleansing the earth and making things new again in spring. I enjoy visiting with those I care about, and cuddling in the cold weather. I spend all my savings from the year on little trinkets they might enjoy.

Whether Christians stole Christmas from Yule/Solstice...or Atheists stole Christmas from Christians is irrelevant and goes AGAINST THE WHOLE POINT OF THE SEASON!

To be nice to each other, and generous! You don't give santas on the street corners change and then claim they "stole" the German image of a Saint to get money for the Salvation Army, do you? No, because it's the thought that counts.

Answer 4

Celebrating "Christmas" is not necessarily a Christian observance. The vast majority of "Christmas" customs, outside of a church, have nothing to do with Christianity. All there is is the name, which the Christians tacked onto the pagan Yule/Solstice observance centuries ago. If you look into the history of Christmas celebrations, you will find several periods when the popular observance of "Christmas" was considered very UN-Christian, full of drunkenness and dabauchery.

Today's observances are almost completely de-Christianized, outside of right-wing conspiracy theory circles. Santa Claus is clearly in charge of the day, not Jesus. Gift-giving, family visiting and entertainment is the order of activities, not praying and sharing the love of God in the Nativity. (It's almost as if non-believers had "taken over" the holiday, just like Christians did way back when.)

Atheists aren't superstitious so there's nothing to fear from enjoying a holiday everyone else enjoys. Christians are still free to observe it in a holy and reverent way, but I suspect most of them will go beyond that. There's just too much fun to be had.

Answer 5

Suzy
First of all, I have to tell you that I respect the Witness' refusal to believe that Jesus sure as h-e-double-hockey-sticks wasn't born in the last part of December. The shepherds out in their fields at night? That only happened during lambing season, which is---as we ALL know---in the spring.
However. In answer to your question, the Christians attempted to convert and assimilate the Pagans, in part, by placing "Christ's Birthday" on a Pagan holiday---the Winter Solstice (called "Yule" by the Druids.) So I'd have to say that Pagans like myself are actually more righteous in celebrating December 25th than any Christian.

Answer 6

It's the best secular holiday of the year! True, it is a holiday that the Christians stole from the pagans who co-opted it from people just celebrating that winter is half over. However, it still has some really good secular traditions.

1) Celebrating that winter is half over.
2) Celebration of the continuation of life through winter
3) Remember the poor
4) Being generous
5) Peace on Earth, goodwill towards other people
6) Remembering relatives
7) Good food and good company

All of those are non-religious.

There is the story about Jesus' birth, but even the Christians admit that he wasn't born in the wintertime. This was just a convenient holiday for them to paste that into, sort of how the Jews have made Hanukkah a major holiday because it falls at the same time, or Kwanzaa for the blacks.

Personally, I celebrate the Solstice at that time of year, though I do like the whole Santa Claus myth. It's fun to pretend that there's a magical guy who gives rewards to those who are good, right Christians?

Answer 7

Why would a Christian celebrate a pagan holiday then, which is Christmas? Most companies give their employees time off over that particular holiday period, so kind of hard as an atheist not to take that time off. Good time to spend time with friends.
As per Christians, why would Christians exchange gifts at the Christmas season? What religious reason for that? There is none.

Answer 8

Basically, Christmas has become a pretty secular event. It's fun to hang out with family, buy stuff to make them happy and stuff. I mean, plenty of Christians celebrate Halloween, not because they are Pagan but because it's largely secular and it's fun.

If, on the other hand, you have a religious conviction that it is *wrong* to celebrate it, that's a different story. But it "makes no never mind" to have some gingerbread and eggnog with friends and family while looking at a pretty tree even if you don't believe there is a God or that Jesus rose from the dead.

Answer 9

Christmas is a pagan holiday.

It celebrates the winter solstice festival. It has nothing to do with the birth of Christ. Yeshua was not born on 25 December. Christmas was celebrated before Christ was even born. The Romans celebrated the pagan goddess Saturn's birthday on 25 December.

Answer 10

Christmas is a winter pagan holiday hijacked by the Christians. I celebrate because it's an excuse to buy presents for people, to decorate the house, to get together with family and friends, and to drink hot-buttered rum and spiked eggnog. I celebrate because it's fun. I celebrate because I know it is not in fact a religious holiday, or at the very least, does not need to be. I celebrate it because I can.

Answer 11

I didn't celebrate Christmas for a couple of years. Now that I have children, people buy gifts for my children, even when I ask them not to because it's the "christian" thing to do and no child should be without gifts on Christmas. (forget about the thousands of gifts they get through out the year) So i just gave in and every year I reluctantly drag my butt all over the place on Christmas eve and spend 2 whole pay checks on other people's kids who just throw the gifts into a pile and probably never touch them again. Once my kids turn 18, they are on their own. No more Christmas for me.