atheism and christmas?

Question

i was a catholic but i am kind of in the process of turning atheist, because i dont believe in god or that life should be lived in the mindset that we are going to get another life after we die.
but i'm in the school choir and it's coming up to christmas. so im going to have to go to the church and sing songs about jesus and all that crap. what should i do? will i just go along with it and not make a fuss even though im an atheist?
also is it ok for me to celebrate christmas? i love christmas, just not the whole jesus side of it.
thanks

and no answers from you christians telling me to not be atheist please! you'd just be wasting your and my time

darwin lied -- you are so stupid

eezy-jex - i thought christmas was supposed to be a time of giving? but yet you seem to want only people who believe in jesus and god to be able to benefit from thos things you listed and to be able to enjoy christmas? assuming you are a christian you sound like a perfect example of how bad they can be.

sen b, i i think you'll find that it's you christians that are more like sheep. at least atheists don't believe everything that they were told about a made up jerk sitting on a cloud and justify the killing of other humans for a thing that doesn't exist, never has and has never done anything to help the world.

Answer 1

Sing in the choir and have a good time at Christmas...

One does not have to believe in "Rudolph" to sing the carol and you don't have to believe in Jesus to sing a hymn... Christmas was stolen from the pagans anyway! Have a good time, when you're an atheist, that stuff really doesn't matter anymore.

What matter's over the holiday is enjoying your family, loving and being loved, and making the most out of your life for yourself and for others.

Answer 2

Really, it's up to you. Winter festivals have been a part of humanity since the dawn of time. They are a great way for people to reconnect before they are seperated by the short days and long nights of cold, difficult weather. Each culture celebrates in it's own way and there are cross cultural celebrants who wish to participate in the faith of their parents or friends, even if that is not their own personal faith.

I think of times when I have been with the uncomfortable Jewish person at a Christmas celebration. What should they do? Sit quietly in the corner and brood with their yamica and bible? No. They should join into the celebration spirit and when they are among others who share their beliefs or they have time alone, they can nurture their own personal spiritual meaning of the holidays.

I was not brought up as a Jesus devotee, but I have always loved Christmas myself. The time together, the wonderful food and smells, the giving and warm spirit. I was so pleased when Seinfeld came up with Festivus for the rest of us - we can enjoy the wonderful fun parts without the religious seperatness.

I know a lot of people like to make a big deal about who is allowed to celebrate the holidays and how they do it and why they do it - I don't give that kind of nonsense any credence. Spirituality is a private, personal matter - and there really are no rules when you free yourself from the confining restrictions of organized religion. Relax and enjoy your holiday season!

Peace!

Answer 3

I have been an atheist all my life, but I love Christmas.

Christmas was never orginally a Christian celebration any how. It is not hard to understand that people living in the winter-bound latitudes of northern nations would want to have a celebration in the middle of the darkest part of the winter that gathers together friends and family for good cheer, lots of food, and plenty of drinking. If some people want to attach religious significance to it, whatever. For us it's just a time to be with the ones who really make life worth living, and kick the crap out of the darkness with lots of lights and decorations.

And as for the music, you don't have to believe in the literal truth of every song to appreciate the music for its beauty. The religious Christmas carols are amongst some of the most moving pieces of work ever written by man. If you can't appreciate Handel's Messiah because you're atheist, there's something seriously wrong with atheism.

Secular Christmas songs (i.e. Frosty, Rudolph, et al.) quite frankly, suck. They're awful.

By all means, if you enjoy being in the choir, then go ahead - sing your heart out.

Answer 4

You don't HAVE to do anything if you don't want to, unless you are a minor. Then your parents have some say.

Personally, I'd never sing songs about Jesus, but I'm not in a choir. Maybe you need to rethink whether you want to be a part of this?

You can certainly celebrate Christmas as an atheist. There are many non-religious aspects to Christmas. The holiday was originally a pagan celebration of the winter solstice. It was "adopted" by Christians. It's not even the real birthday of Jesus Christ.

Answer 5

If you like the songs, feel free to go ahead and sing them. I somehow doubt that every performer has believed every song lyric since the dawn of time, if you follow me. :)

But, if you really don't want to, you should not have to.

And of course it is ok for you to celebrate christmas!

Think about it - is there some part of:

- Having a day of with your family
- doing nice things and eating lots of good stuff with the family
- generally having an enjoyable day

that is not worth celebrating? Welcome to the atheist christmas - not much Jesus to be seen, but more along the lines of having a good time with the family.

The whole Jesus side doesn't matter. If it was the important bit, if Christians thought it was soooooo important that Jesus be first and foremost during the holiday, I doubt it would have become so completely commercialised.

Hope this helps!

:)

Answer 6

If you think about, how many people that go round singing Christmas carols at Christmas are religious? It's not necessarily for the religious side but for the "fun" side as well. It's all part of the Christmas tradition, whether you're religious or not. A bit like the old Christmas tree and mince pies and what have you.

Of course it's ok for you to celebrate Christmas if you're not religious and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. It's not just about religion but also a time to be with family and friends i.e. your nearest and dearest. That's more important to me than anything else.

Answer 7

~~~ Peach ,,,, I too, was a catholic who became atheist. But what I did learn in my later studies was that the Jesus character was a great teacher of his day and advocated Unconditional Love, among other things. If you sing with "Love in your Heart", without any Dogma attached by the religiosity of the particular church, then you will have done well. If you find that your Conscience will just not allow it then you must resign in Good Faith(pun intended). You would be a Conscientious Objector, so to speak(to thine own self be true). Celebrating "christmas" is in The Heart of The Beholder. Celebrating "The Ideal" of christmas, without the "jesus side of it", is again "Unconditional Love" toward others,,, Peace on Earth,,, Goodwill toward men(mankind),,,etc, etc, etc, ~ You are Loved,,, and you Love those around you. This is the time to take it to it's next level and extend it to others less fortunate than yourself,,,in the form of Altruism,,, which is The Ultimate of Jesus' teachings,,,, and Buddha's,,, and Krishna's,,, etc. etc, etc, I use this time of year to Reinforce my ideal of The Golden Rule. ~~ Namaste`

Answer 8

think of this way. after you found out santa claus and rudolf the red-nosed reindeer were made up, you still celebrated christmas, didn't you? did it really matter that what you were taught about christmas at an early age was a lie? no. by that time you realized that at the very least christmas is a time of year when we get to be with our families and friends, and just have a good time. maybe it is based on lies, but should that take away from the traditions that you hold dear to you? try not to take offense at every little reference to jesus. just think of him like santa claus. sing the songs if you want, and if not, it's really not that big of a deal if someone else does. just be glad you're with people you love. peace.

Answer 9

You know, Christmas has been around for a long time, but Christmas as we celebrate it now was grafted to an older festival, Yuletide, which came from Yule, which came from Gulie, which came from, hey this goes back long time,OK? Same thing with Jesus, linked to Mithras, linked to Persian sun god Sol and so on. Thing is this is huge, been around as long as people could string two thoughts together. Is it God? I don't know, don't trust anyone who claims to have answers for anything this complicated. All I can say, honey is enjoy the light, spread the love, and sing, it feels good, it's part of what makes life worth living. As to the rest, it wouldn't be such a great adventure if we knew all the answers. Have a great Christmas

Answer 10

Yeah, wotthehell - go along and enjoy the whole pitch. Singing in a choir is tremendous fun, working together with others to make a beautiful thing.

Just ignore the subject matter's lack of real-world referents. It's more important to hit the note than reflect deeply on the lyrics.

Being an atheist means that you shouldn't have any religious sensibilities to be offended. Beethoven's Chorale is still spectacular even though much of the content is bunk.

Enjoy! Lucky you.

CD