What do Atheists do on Christmas?

[Dreamhope11]

If your atheist you shouldn't celebrate christmas, am i right? So is it just another day for you guys?

[Snowy Egypt]

You're kidding, right? ANYONE can celebrate Christmas. I happen to know quite a few non religious people both here and in real life that do. Christmas isn't just a religious holiday anymore. It's a holiday for everyone.

[Photolysis]

You think Christmas is only a religious holiday now? What planet have you been living on? What part does Santa play in religion? I must have missed the chapter in the Bible where he and his reindeer made an appearance. What do we do on Christmas? We like many other people get together with our families, have a nice dinner, and celebrate a time of festivity, like many other religious people do.

[Kushna Mufeed]

Christmas isn't a religious holiday. It's a shameless display of consumerism and a chance to lie to your kids.

[Dreamhope11]

Christmas was founded by christianity, to celebrate the birth of jesus and the peace and such. Santa originated from St.Nicholas who used to drop money bags down peoples chimmeneys. Do atheists celebrate easter aswell? And use the excuse it's a holiday for everyone.

[Howie]

I think that the entire concept of Christmas is so far from any original religious practice that it should be the other way around. Christians shouldn't celebrate it? I don’t see how this commercialized, tree-decorating holiday has a whole lot to do with religious practice with most traditional families. Giving to the needy, celebrating a family gathering, gifts, and the festive atmosphere could be embraced by any way of life.

[Rozzy]

If your atheist you shouldn't celebrate christmas, am i right? So is it just another day for you guys? well christmas used to be celebrated in the old days (really back in the day) as celebrating the birth of jesus, yet it has been turned into something way different. edit: and yes there are still people who actually celebrate for the real reasons. not that i don't mind the gifts and all but that is basically what it has become, people expecting presents or such things. so anyone really can celebrate. and santa isn't real. sorry kids. st.nick yes, santa no. Christmas was founded by christianity, to celebrate the birth of jesus and the peace and such. Santa originated from St.Nicholas who used to drop money bags down peoples chimmeneys. Do atheists celebrate easter aswell? And use the excuse it's a holiday for everyone. and i realy see no point in why peope wouldn't celebrate easter. maybe not the religious side of easter, but i mean the bunny... serioulsly, a bunny isn't very religious... unless you watch southpark. people can hide eggs and such cause come on, it's eggs. hehe. but you know what i'll ask you a question. how does hiding eggs that bunnies "laid" apply to the ressurection of christ? i don't get the conection. so no connection, no need to be religious to celebrate the egg hunting and such.

[gaia]

Christmas was founded by christianity, to celebrate the birth of jesus and the peace and such. Santa originated from St.Nicholas who used to drop money bags down peoples chimmeneys. Do atheists celebrate easter aswell? And use the excuse it's a holiday for everyone. WRONG. Christianity adopted the pagan festivities and named it Christmas. I forget what it was called prior to that.

[[SomeGuy]]

Christmas isn't a religious holiday. It's a shameless display of consumerism and a chance to lie to your kids. Lol, I celebrate it. Over the years, It's been changed into barely a religious holiday at all.

[Bonsay]

I never really celebrated Christmas. Where I live, non-religous people celebrate the new year, including the tree, presents and decoration. We had (and still have) Grandfather Frost, the communist version of Santa Claus (But I think he is much older than santa). Now globalization has brought Santa Claus as well, so we have St. Nicolas, Santa, and Grandfather frost. Not that anybody knows that Saint Nicolas was the inspiration for Santa Claus.

[WakataDreamer]

Rearrange S A N T A and you get S A T A N ? Christmas isn't a religious holiday. It's a shameless display of consumerism and a chance to lie to your kids. Christmas is a day to celebrate capitalism and the creed of excessive commercialism and consumerism. lol makes sense, he turned Christmas () into that thing

[Xaqaria]

Christmas is the Winter Solstice. Easter is the Spring equinox. All that is religious about either of them is their names and Easter is named for an anglo-saxon goddess of spring.

[berryman13]

I am athiest. Chrismas celebrates the birth of jesus, but remember, jesus was jewish! It has religious roots, but it isn't centralized around religion, therefore I celebrate it with my family.

[Kraftwerk]

By that logic, no one should be able to celebrate Halloween unless they do it to scare evil spirits away.

[AirRick101]

Christmas isn't a religious holiday. It's a shameless display of consumerism and a chance to lie to your kids. hahah, best reply so far to the original post, that's an extremely narrow-minded way of thinking. not that I'm offended (because I'm Christian too) but the answer is right in front of you, just look around at who celebrates it...everybody!!! besides, Christmas in America generally does not recognize the Christian roots of it. Instead, it circles around Santa Claus, presents, snow, carols, shopping, etc....and there's nothing wrong with that.

[SpecialInterests]

Christmas isn't a religious holiday. It's a shameless display of consumerism and a chance to lie to your kids. Indeed. Christmas is no more than an excess of consuming useless junk that makes corrupt corporations even more rich, and a chance for americans and american-like countries to stuff there fat-ass mouths full of junk food. Christmas is so americanized. It's disgusting, and it's embarrassing.

[Sandform]

Indeed. Christmas is no more than an excess of consuming useless junk that makes corrupt corporations even more rich, and a chance for americans and american-like countries to stuff there fat-ass mouths full of junk food. Christmas is so americanized. It's disgusting, and it's embarrassing. Christmas also means free shipping =).

[DeathCell]

You think Christmas is only a religious holiday now? What planet have you been living on? What part does Santa play in religion? I must have missed the chapter in the Bible where he and his reindeer made an appearance. What do we do on Christmas? We like many other people get together with our families, have a nice dinner, and celebrate a time of festivity, like many other religious people do. That's because Santa is pagan my friend.... Numerous parallels have been drawn between Santa Claus and the figure of Odin, a major god amongst the Germanic peoples prior to their Christianization. Since many of these elements are unrelated to Christianity, there are theories regarding the pagan origins of various customs of the holiday stemming from areas where the Germanic peoples were Christianized and retained elements of their indigenous traditions, surviving in various forms into modern depictions of Santa Claus.[12] Odin was sometimes recorded, at the native Germanic holiday of Yule, as leading a great hunting party through the sky.[13] Two books from Iceland, the Poetic Edda, compiled in the 13th century from earlier sources, and the Prose Edda, written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson, describe Odin as riding an eight-legged horse named Sleipnir that could leap great distances, giving rise to comparisons to Santa Claus's reindeer.[14] Further, Odin was referred to by many names in Skaldic poetry, some of which describe his appearance or functions; these include Síðgrani,[15] Síðskeggr,[16] Langbarðr,[17] (all meaning "long beard") and Jólnir[18] ("Yule figure"). According to Phyllis Siefker, children would place their boots, filled with carrots, straw, or sugar, near the chimney for Odin's flying horse, Sleipnir, to eat. Odin would then reward those children for their kindness by replacing Sleipnir's food with gifts or candy.[19] This practice survived in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands after the adoption of Christianity and became associated with Saint Nicholas as a result of the process of Christianization and can be still seen in the modern practice of the hanging of stockings at the chimney in some homes. This practice in turn came to the United States through the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam prior to the British seizure in the 17th century, and evolved into the hanging of socks or stockings at the fireplace. In many regions of Austria and former Austro-Hungarian Italy (Friuli, city of Trieste) children are given sweets and gifts on Saint Nicholas's Day (San Niccolò in Italian), in accordance with the Catholic calendar, December 6. Numerous other influences from the pre-Christian Germanic winter celebrations have continued into modern Christmas celebrations such as the Christmas ham, Yule Goat, Yule logs and the Christmas tree.

[wendylove]

Christmas was founded by christianity, to celebrate the birth of jesus and the peace and such. No, it wasen't. Christmas is a pagen holiday, Christianity just stole it. Do atheists celebrate easter aswell? And use the excuse it's a holiday for everyone. Yes. Again its a holiday, to give expensive presents to people.

[LucidDreamGod]

No, it wasen't. Christmas is a pagen holiday, Christianity just stole it. Yes. Again its a holiday, to give expensive presents to people. Yes exactly, a lot of symbols of christmas come from paganism. Also it is the "birth of the sun" or should I say the "son" the real metaphor in that is that it shows christianity came from astrology. I won't post all about it here but I've seen huge videos about the subject and it has fair amounts of evidence throughout the bible, of course you could say god painted the skies with the story of jesus. But it is a fact that religions came from worshipping the sun, which is now the son, and we worship on "sun"day. But practicing it is no different then when the christians stole the holiday from the pagans, and many other religions who had the birth of their sun of god on that same exact day. (Horus, krishna) Not only that but other things they shared with jesus. Actually I'm not so sure about Krishna's birthday, it is actually supposedly not known.

[Dreamhope11]

hehe i love making threads which annoy people... Anyway, so your telling me that i can celebrate any religous holidays i want? Can i celebrate Ramadam even though im not muslim?

[Howie]

hehe i love making threads which annoy people... Anyway, so your telling me that i can celebrate any religous holidays i want? Can i celebrate Ramadam even though im not muslim? Yaa I Think you new the answer to this long before you posted it. Celebrate whatever you wish. It is ultimately you and what faith you have that you would have to answer to. Being true to your own beliefs. Particularly the one you mentioned Christmas does not represent Christians or any other religion very well.

[Bonsay]

hehe i love making threads which annoy people... Anyway, so your telling me that i can celebrate any religous holidays i want? Can i celebrate Ramadam even though im not muslim? Well you can steal it and call it Christamadan then say it's a christian holiday. It's the christian way.

[drewmandan]

The main symbol of Christmas is a colourfully decorated spruce tree. I can't think of any ritual more pagan than that.

[Sandform]

I have a Jewish stepfather, and all of my biological family are Christians, cousins, aunts, brother, father, mother, grandparents, uncles, all of them. So, I ask them not to buy me things and depending on if I feel like it I will show up on Christmas because it is a family thing, sort of. Before Christmas I have to deal with that hanukkah crap, then on Christmas we have Christmas, and then it is finally freaking over. My birthday is in January though so I mean I don't feel left out when everyone gets those little cheapo gifts but me. I try to go hang out with them if they invite me...but all in all it is "just another day" for me. Another annoying fucking day, but another day none the less.