i'm just a curious 16 yo, nice answers please, don't bite my head off. but since Thanksgiving is thanking God for what you have and Christmas is celebrating Christ's birth, do atheists celebrate them? and if yes, who are they thanking?
2007-11-26 08:23:04 · 39 answers · asked by :) 3 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Thanksgiving is an American holiday so I don't celebrate that.
As for Xmas many holidays in many religions are about at this time of the year not all are celebrating Christmas some are just celebrating gift giving & the season without the religious conotations.
Personally I celebrate Solstice (Summer for me as im in southern hemisphere.)
We do however still have a Santa visit as I have a 6 yr old daughter who still believes in Santa.
2007-11-26 08:31:06 · answer #1 · answered by silkin_storm 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The answer is simple.
At least this is the way we do it in my family....
I am an atheist and I don't really know what my parents religion is, but they never thanked God or recognized Jesus on Christmas, or anything like that. Thanksgiving is merely a time to get together with loved ones you haven't seen in a whole year and have a feast. Christmas is another time to visit relatives and this time exchange gifts for no apparent reason. On Easter, we don't really do anything big. My parents might send me a box of chocolates or something. But hey, Christians also celebrate Halloween even though it is considered the devil's day. But they just do it for the dressing up in costumes and getting free candy. Hey...why not?
2007-11-26 08:36:55 · answer #2 · answered by Abby C 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Some do, some don't. I usually have a quiet Thanksgiving with my husband and the same with Christmas. I do not go out of my way to celebrate Christmas - I don't take it for it's religious meaning and I dislike the commercial aspect of it. For me, Christmas is a day I usually sleep in and then make my husband a special meal he wouldn't get every day of the week. That's about it.
Thanksgiving is not a religious holiday - it can be made one if the person so wishes. Thanksgiving commemorates the first harvest of the Pilgrims (not all of whom were Puritans). I thank my husband for 8 wonderful years of marriage.
2007-11-26 08:28:54 · answer #3 · answered by genaddt 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Thanksgiving is an American Holiday, not a religious holiday. Yes, our country was based on the Puritan Christian way of life, but Thanksgiving is a celebration for all who live here...freedom of religion. As for Christmas, that is a religious holiday for Christians...but many of other faiths participate because it has become less religious and more secular over time. My partner is Jewish and I am Christian...because of this, we recognize and celebrate holidays for both religions as a family. There are more and more interfaith families that are learning how to combine traditions.
2007-11-26 10:51:52 · answer #4 · answered by Bridget C 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Many do, however, they celebrate the holiday from a secular standpoint. The religious aspects of Christmas have nothing to do with gifts, food, and family, yet all these aspects are incorporated, even by religious families. As for Thanksgiving, many do not share your view that it is thanking God for what you have. It is more often seen as a time of fellowship. Because of this, nonreligious people who celebrate these holidays may in fact be thanking no one.
2007-11-26 08:30:32 · answer #5 · answered by dflocks80 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes.
And Thanksgiving isn't just for thanking God. It's also to be thankful to our forefathers who made incredible sacrifices for our freedoms.
And Christmas can be celebrated for any reason anyone wants to. Christians actually hijacked a pagan holiday, and claimed it for their God. Many symbols of Christmas, such as a Christmas tree and mistletoe, are based on pagan symbols and have nothing to do with Jesus. Jesus wouldn't have even been born in December. That date is based on a pagan holiday, too. I celebrate the holiday, and it is no less hypocritical for me to do so than for a Christian to celebrate what is really a pagan holiday. I consider it a day of love and family.
2007-11-26 08:45:49 · answer #6 · answered by Jess H 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Greetings - Christianity stole Christmas. It was originally a festival to celebrate the winter solstice with myths of a savior god born of a virgin. Almost everything associated with Christmas is taken from pagan sources: decorated and lit tree, mistletoe, exchanging of gifts, feasting, toasting, etc. The holiday is called Yule - you might recognize the term from the Yuletide season. Heathens celebrate the 12 days and nights of Yule.
Thanksgiving is a harvest celebration to feast and celebrate the end of the harvest season. In the US it has always been a secular holiday. Many of us give thanks but not to a Christian deity. Atheists love the chance to have a paid holiday and to be with family.
2007-11-26 08:30:11 · answer #7 · answered by Aravah 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'm originally Argentine so I don't celebrate thanksgiving but as far as I know that holiday is about thanking the Native Americans for helping the pilgrims survive and Christmas...it wasn't originally a Christian holiday, I'm pretty sure it was Pagan...and I don't remember Santa in the bible...
2007-11-27 12:15:01 · answer #8 · answered by *idunno* 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Thanksgiving has nothing to do with being a christian, its about eating a meal with your fellow man. Christmas is a commercialized holiday loosely based on the birth of Jesus. Religion is being taken out from the holiday so that its just a jolly good gift giving time.
2007-11-26 08:29:57 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Yes. (Well, technically Thanksgiving and Yule, as I'm Pagan and Yule is the original Christmas.)
Sorry, but Christmas had nothing to do with Christ originally. It was absorbed by the church, but is in no way biblical. It's a pagan holiday celebrating the winter solstice.
And for Thanksgiving, I thank my family and friends for all they do. It's completely secular.
2007-11-26 08:27:52 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋