I am christian- and I dont know what they do for christmas. The main meaning of christmas is Jesuses birth. So, do atheists celebrate some how on that day?
spending lots of money, getting drunk, being greedy…thats my guess
Christmas was stolen from the Pagan Harvest festival. You guys are just celebrating a Pagan festival, only you’ve stuck some crap about Jesus’s birth (which is generally accepted to have been in october, assuming he ever existed) References :
The version of xmas that most atheists celebrate was invented by Macy’s which is the joy of giving gifts to the ones you love and spending time with them. Warm and safe in their homes & not in some grumpy judgmental church. References :
Christmas was originally a pagan celebration which was taken over by christians. Most people accept that Jesus would have been born in July or August, not December.
I wish believers would actually learn the origins of "their" celebrations! References :
My family brought a tree in and decorated it (an ancient Celtic tradition actually, and found in other societies throughout history as well). We ate a nice dinner around the table with good cheer and gift giving (another ancient pagan tradition that was co-opted by Christianity).
The main meaning of Christmas, as a Christian festival, may be the birth of their messiah, but the date and the season have long held traditions going back millennia before Jesus’ birth. References :
I suspect that I celebrate it just like everyone else.
I gather with friends and family, usually around a warm fire, listen to holiday music and open presents and enjoy the company. We have peppermint hot chocolate, eggnog, and a nice brunch together potluck style, with everyone bringing a dish of some sort.
I should also add that Christmas was originally a pagan holiday, not a Christian one. References :
Actually the "main meaning of christmas" is buying a lot of stuff. This holiday stopped being holy a while ago it’s all about mass marketing now. So mainly yes i do the celebrate the actual 21’st century christmas as "christians" do. References :
Quite interestingly enough Christmas was not originally based on the birth of Christ, but instead was mainly created in order to compete with a Pagan celebration that went on at the same general time. You can look it up if you want. Anyway back to your question. I mainly just celebrate it by buying gifts for my friends and family and spending time with my loved ones. I basically just spend the holiday season letting everyone I know in my life that they are important to me. Oh and the couple weeks off of school is a pretty cool bonus. References :
We celebrate with our families as a way to spend time with loved ones. Since when or rather under what law gives Christians the right to dictate how people can and should celebrate Christmas References :
Firstly, most of the Christmassy elements of Christmas are actually Pagan. Decorating trees, exchanging presents, feasting, mistletoe, Yule logs, holly & ivy, even the Santa myth is all part of Yule, the Pagan midwinter celebration. Pagan traditions were adopted into Christianity to make it easier to convert Pagans.
It is no more hypocritical for me to enjoy Yule traditions than it is for you. Christmas is essentially a secular holiday now. References :
The "main meaning of christmas is Jesuses birth"????
Have you been living in a cave for the last century? Christmas is a secular holiday that is more about consumerism than the birth of some fictional messiah. References :
What do Santa Claus, presents wrapped in snowflake-patterned paper, songs like "Jingle Bells", and candy canes have to do with Jesus? Point to the place in the Bible where the apostles of the early church instruct you to celebrate Christmas. I’ll wait patiently.
Christmas has nothing to do with Jesus’s birth — the Puritans refused to celebrate Christmas because it wasn’t Biblical. They called it an abomination. Because of this, Christmas as we know it wasn’t even celebrated in America until Queen Victoria’s German husband Prince Albert made it fashionable in the mid-1800s. That’s right — your "Christmas" celebrations came from Germany, through England just over one hundred years ago.
So anyway, atheists, or at least, me, celebrate Christmas by wrapping presents, putting up lights, eating lots of candy, and enjoying time off from work — just like you do, since it really isn’t "Christian" at all. References :
Some atheists do celebrate Christmas. I am an atheist and I celebrate it with my family. I see it more as getting together with family, having food and exchanging gifts rather than celebrating some one’s birthday. References :
I grew up celebrating Christmas; given my druthers I do celebrate it now. I LOVE Christmas trees.
At different times, I’ve gotten together with family and exchanged gifts, and generally hung out, sung, laughed, and eaten and drank.
These days, my sister and I go to her friend’s house for Roast Beast and a mellow time.
Winter festivals and holidays long preceeded Christians. It’s cold and wet and dark and gloomy.
Hanging out, eating lots of naughty things, and drinking hot toddies, stringing pretty colored lights and shiny ornaments on a nice, green, smelly tree, even carolling (though I don’t endorse all the lyrics, I LOVE them old tunes) — it’s all good.
What puzzles me is people in the southern hemisphere celebrating Christmas at the wrong time of year. I can’t imagine it being as good in SUMMER.
It’s more about what people grew up with. Obviously, as you point out, the religious aspect means nothing to us. References :
Get real – you do not even know the history of your own religion!!
Christmas is nothing to do with either Christianity or Islam but it does have it’s origins in the midwinter festival and many other basically pagan rites but since much of it is a celebration of nature rather than religion everyone should be able to enjoy it and be happy together despite religion!!
The ancient European pagans celebrated the midwinter festival and a number of other festivals long before Christianity ever existed!
Babylonians celebrated the feast of the Son of Isis with gluttonous eating and drinking, and gift giving and the goddess of fertility, love, and war.
The Romans held a festival on 25 December called “Dies Natalis Solis Invicti, celebrating their own god Sol Invictas – PAGAN.
The Persian god Mithras, the Syrian sun god Elah Gabal, the German Sol, the Greek Helios and the Mesopotamian Shamash. But also Saturnalia, honouring Saturn, the God of Agriculture. The law courts and schools were closed. No public business could be transacted an this is where the holidays originated – ALL PAGAN!!!
Wax tapers were given by the more humble to their superiors. The origin of the Christmas candle – PAGAN!!
In Rome groups of costumed went from house to house entertaining their people. And this was where the carolling Christmas tradition originated PAGAN!!
Statues of the Mother and lover or Mother and son were paraded through the streets not only in Italy but also in Africa, Spain, Portugal, France, Germany and Bulgaria. Thus, the symbolism of the Heavenly Virgin and the infant child paraded on a yearly basis are not of Christian origin. They stem from the Mother-goddess religion, which is very ancient ENTIRELY PAGAN!!.
Scandinavian countries celebrated Yule honouring Thor – PAGAN.
In Germania (not Germany) they celebrated midwinter night followed by 12 wild nights of eating and drinking. The 12 days of Christmas PAGAN!!
The church under Pope Julius I declared that Christ’s birth would be celebrated on December 25 in 350 AD in order to try to hijack the PAGAN festivals but it was largely ignored. Christians did not really celebrate Christmas until 378 but it was then dropped in 381 and not resurrected until 400.
The Christmas tree stems from pagan tradition and ritual surrounding the Winter Solstice, which included the use of holly boughs ivy and other foliage as an adaptation of pagan tree worship. Holly and ivy represented male and female. Mistletoe was considered a sacred plant, and the custom of kissing under the mistletoe began as a fertility ritual – all PAGAN!!
Santa Claus came from the Dutch “Sinterklaas” and was a tall figure riding a white horse through the air and usually accompanied by Black Peter, an elf who punished disobedient children. Also the origin of the reindeer, sleigh and the elves ALL PAGAN!!
The modern red coated Santa was brought about by coca cola!!
America actually banned Christmas several times and is the originator of the expression “Happy Holidays” which came about because of the pagan origins of Christmas to include all religions and traditions!!
The Venerable Bede, an early Christian writer pointed out that the Christian church absorbed Pagan practices when it found the population unwilling to give up the festivals. Thus a lot of what Christians now see as Christians practices are in fact pagan!!!
Christmas is the time of year christians strive to prove just how pagan they have become!!! References :
December 17th, 2009 at 1:16 pm
I don’t believe in god but I celebrate it just like christians. I don’t go to church though.
References :
December 17th, 2009 at 1:22 pm
They celebrate vacation from work with pay
References :
December 17th, 2009 at 1:44 pm
We don’t.
References :
December 17th, 2009 at 1:59 pm
The reason for the season is Saturnalia, a celebration of having bounty even in winter, read your history, not your dogma.
References :
December 17th, 2009 at 2:05 pm
spending lots of money, getting drunk, being greedy…thats my guess
References :
December 17th, 2009 at 2:42 pm
they put presents under the damn tree and bake some ham, ok?
References :
December 17th, 2009 at 3:29 pm
With family and friends.
*drink*
References :
December 17th, 2009 at 3:42 pm
minues the christ we just hav mas and get presents o.o
References :
December 17th, 2009 at 4:19 pm
Christmas was stolen from the Pagan Harvest festival. You guys are just celebrating a Pagan festival, only you’ve stuck some crap about Jesus’s birth (which is generally accepted to have been in october, assuming he ever existed)
References :
December 17th, 2009 at 4:50 pm
Open gifts under the christmas tree and drink egg nog like you do. What they don’t do is go to church on Christmas Day.
References :
December 17th, 2009 at 5:22 pm
Apparently you’re unaware of the fact that the Christian church hijacked a pagan holiday and called it Christmas.
At any rate, I celebrate with a day off with pay, spending it with friends, family, and lots of food.
References :
December 17th, 2009 at 5:29 pm
The version of xmas that most atheists celebrate was invented by Macy’s which is the joy of giving gifts to the ones you love and spending time with them. Warm and safe in their homes & not in some grumpy judgmental church.
References :
December 17th, 2009 at 6:02 pm
Christmas was originally a pagan celebration which was taken over by christians. Most people accept that Jesus would have been born in July or August, not December.
I wish believers would actually learn the origins of "their" celebrations!
References :
December 17th, 2009 at 6:30 pm
It’s also a federal holiday.
They can relax, eat a nice meal, go out shopping, rent a movie….
References :
December 17th, 2009 at 6:39 pm
My family brought a tree in and decorated it (an ancient Celtic tradition actually, and found in other societies throughout history as well). We ate a nice dinner around the table with good cheer and gift giving (another ancient pagan tradition that was co-opted by Christianity).
The main meaning of Christmas, as a Christian festival, may be the birth of their messiah, but the date and the season have long held traditions going back millennia before Jesus’ birth.
References :
December 17th, 2009 at 7:05 pm
You know you are celebrating a pagan holiday right?
References :
December 17th, 2009 at 7:45 pm
Movie and a Chinese restaurant; everybody knows that.
References :
December 17th, 2009 at 7:53 pm
I suspect that I celebrate it just like everyone else.
I gather with friends and family, usually around a warm fire, listen to holiday music and open presents and enjoy the company. We have peppermint hot chocolate, eggnog, and a nice brunch together potluck style, with everyone bringing a dish of some sort.
I should also add that Christmas was originally a pagan holiday, not a Christian one.
References :
December 17th, 2009 at 8:24 pm
Actually the "main meaning of christmas" is buying a lot of stuff. This holiday stopped being holy a while ago it’s all about mass marketing now. So mainly yes i do the celebrate the actual 21’st century christmas as "christians" do.
References :
December 17th, 2009 at 8:58 pm
No religion for me except all the pagan traditions that have been handed down.
Christmas is not a Christian holiday, it is a stolen pagan ritual. Presents, Trees, etc have nothing to do with Christianity.
The only thing similar is the make believe Santa Clause that is such a metaphor of God.
References :
TBF
December 17th, 2009 at 9:10 pm
Quite interestingly enough Christmas was not originally based on the birth of Christ, but instead was mainly created in order to compete with a Pagan celebration that went on at the same general time. You can look it up if you want. Anyway back to your question. I mainly just celebrate it by buying gifts for my friends and family and spending time with my loved ones. I basically just spend the holiday season letting everyone I know in my life that they are important to me. Oh and the couple weeks off of school is a pretty cool bonus.
References :
December 17th, 2009 at 9:54 pm
We celebrate with our families as a way to spend time with loved ones. Since when or rather under what law gives Christians the right to dictate how people can and should celebrate Christmas
References :
December 17th, 2009 at 9:59 pm
Firstly, most of the Christmassy elements of Christmas are actually Pagan. Decorating trees, exchanging presents, feasting, mistletoe, Yule logs, holly & ivy, even the Santa myth is all part of Yule, the Pagan midwinter celebration. Pagan traditions were adopted into Christianity to make it easier to convert Pagans.
It is no more hypocritical for me to enjoy Yule traditions than it is for you. Christmas is essentially a secular holiday now.
References :
December 17th, 2009 at 10:26 pm
The "main meaning of christmas is Jesuses birth"????
Have you been living in a cave for the last century? Christmas is a secular holiday that is more about consumerism than the birth of some fictional messiah.
References :
December 17th, 2009 at 10:59 pm
What do Santa Claus, presents wrapped in snowflake-patterned paper, songs like "Jingle Bells", and candy canes have to do with Jesus? Point to the place in the Bible where the apostles of the early church instruct you to celebrate Christmas. I’ll wait patiently.
Christmas has nothing to do with Jesus’s birth — the Puritans refused to celebrate Christmas because it wasn’t Biblical. They called it an abomination. Because of this, Christmas as we know it wasn’t even celebrated in America until Queen Victoria’s German husband Prince Albert made it fashionable in the mid-1800s. That’s right — your "Christmas" celebrations came from Germany, through England just over one hundred years ago.
So anyway, atheists, or at least, me, celebrate Christmas by wrapping presents, putting up lights, eating lots of candy, and enjoying time off from work — just like you do, since it really isn’t "Christian" at all.
References :
December 17th, 2009 at 11:48 pm
Some atheists do celebrate Christmas. I am an atheist and I celebrate it with my family. I see it more as getting together with family, having food and exchanging gifts rather than celebrating some one’s birthday.
References :
December 18th, 2009 at 12:27 am
If Christmas is about Jesus’ birth, then WTF do reindeer, Santa, evergreen trees and mistletoe have to do with Jesus??
ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. Why is that? Because Christmas has everything to do with an old pagan practice that Christians hijacked.
References :
December 18th, 2009 at 1:11 am
Some do, some don’t.
I grew up celebrating Christmas; given my druthers I do celebrate it now. I LOVE Christmas trees.
At different times, I’ve gotten together with family and exchanged gifts, and generally hung out, sung, laughed, and eaten and drank.
These days, my sister and I go to her friend’s house for Roast Beast and a mellow time.
Winter festivals and holidays long preceeded Christians. It’s cold and wet and dark and gloomy.
Hanging out, eating lots of naughty things, and drinking hot toddies, stringing pretty colored lights and shiny ornaments on a nice, green, smelly tree, even carolling (though I don’t endorse all the lyrics, I LOVE them old tunes) — it’s all good.
What puzzles me is people in the southern hemisphere celebrating Christmas at the wrong time of year. I can’t imagine it being as good in SUMMER.
It’s more about what people grew up with. Obviously, as you point out, the religious aspect means nothing to us.
References :
December 18th, 2009 at 1:29 am
Sorry just another totally false claim!!
Get real – you do not even know the history of your own religion!!
Christmas is nothing to do with either Christianity or Islam but it does have it’s origins in the midwinter festival and many other basically pagan rites but since much of it is a celebration of nature rather than religion everyone should be able to enjoy it and be happy together despite religion!!
The ancient European pagans celebrated the midwinter festival and a number of other festivals long before Christianity ever existed!
Babylonians celebrated the feast of the Son of Isis with gluttonous eating and drinking, and gift giving and the goddess of fertility, love, and war.
The Romans held a festival on 25 December called “Dies Natalis Solis Invicti, celebrating their own god Sol Invictas – PAGAN.
The Persian god Mithras, the Syrian sun god Elah Gabal, the German Sol, the Greek Helios and the Mesopotamian Shamash. But also Saturnalia, honouring Saturn, the God of Agriculture. The law courts and schools were closed. No public business could be transacted an this is where the holidays originated – ALL PAGAN!!!
Wax tapers were given by the more humble to their superiors. The origin of the Christmas candle – PAGAN!!
In Rome groups of costumed went from house to house entertaining their people. And this was where the carolling Christmas tradition originated PAGAN!!
Statues of the Mother and lover or Mother and son were paraded through the streets not only in Italy but also in Africa, Spain, Portugal, France, Germany and Bulgaria. Thus, the symbolism of the Heavenly Virgin and the infant child paraded on a yearly basis are not of Christian origin. They stem from the Mother-goddess religion, which is very ancient ENTIRELY PAGAN!!.
Scandinavian countries celebrated Yule honouring Thor – PAGAN.
In Germania (not Germany) they celebrated midwinter night followed by 12 wild nights of eating and drinking. The 12 days of Christmas PAGAN!!
The church under Pope Julius I declared that Christ’s birth would be celebrated on December 25 in 350 AD in order to try to hijack the PAGAN festivals but it was largely ignored. Christians did not really celebrate Christmas until 378 but it was then dropped in 381 and not resurrected until 400.
The Christmas tree stems from pagan tradition and ritual surrounding the Winter Solstice, which included the use of holly boughs ivy and other foliage as an adaptation of pagan tree worship. Holly and ivy represented male and female. Mistletoe was considered a sacred plant, and the custom of kissing under the mistletoe began as a fertility ritual – all PAGAN!!
Santa Claus came from the Dutch “Sinterklaas” and was a tall figure riding a white horse through the air and usually accompanied by Black Peter, an elf who punished disobedient children. Also the origin of the reindeer, sleigh and the elves ALL PAGAN!!
The modern red coated Santa was brought about by coca cola!!
America actually banned Christmas several times and is the originator of the expression “Happy Holidays” which came about because of the pagan origins of Christmas to include all religions and traditions!!
The Venerable Bede, an early Christian writer pointed out that the Christian church absorbed Pagan practices when it found the population unwilling to give up the festivals. Thus a lot of what Christians now see as Christians practices are in fact pagan!!!
Christmas is the time of year christians strive to prove just how pagan they have become!!!
References :