Do atheists celebrate <span >christmas</span>?
I guess if someones whole family truely believed there was no god then they might not celebrate christmas, but just say maybe it was a kid in the family. Would they celebrate christmas, because without Jesus and God there would be no Christmas, so y would they even bother to celebrate it?
Update:Christmas is a religious Holiday! It when Jesus was born, thats what we are celebrating-the birth of Christ! So y would someone who didn't believe in Christ celebrate his birthday!
Comments
There are people out there, including atheists, that will celebrate anything as an excuse to get drunk. They don't celebrate to remember what it is they're celebrating; they can care less. Sad, pathetic and wrong but, true.
Christmas is both a religious and cultural holiday. I celebrate it despite being an atheist.
We enjoy the tree, the trappings, the gifts, and the opportunity to see family.
Like many other answerers point out, much of what Christmas celebrates is not exclusively Christian.
I do and i am an atheist.
It is in the good nature of this country to allow for one day a year to celebrate belonging, family and friends and life itself and i love it.
Religion is not a big part of todays society as it once was so it is the natural course for Christmas to transcend from being a religious holiday to being one that the whole country can enjoy with out going to church or read the bible.
It has lost its original meaning but i think it has gained a more harmonious one (if only it would stop being a chance for capitalism to pressure people into spending too much money) xx
um...yeah, most people don't actually celebrate christmas for religious reasons. i mean, do you think your buddy jesus would really want an iPod? its just an excuse to get together with family and start a new year. i mean, the only reason these holiday's are in the winter is because of the winter's high suicide rate. how could jesus have been born on the day we say, when they only had ten months back then?! its all really very silly.
I'm an atheist and I celebrate Christmas. We don't celebrate the birth of Jesus (which didn't even happen on December 25th anyways), we celebrate a time of giving and spending time with our loved ones.
And there would be a Christmas without Jesus and God, it would just be called Yule like it was before
While we atheists do not think of Jesus as "God," many of us believe he was a real person in history who articulated the greatest ethical system of all time: Love your neighbor as yourself. Even if he's only a fictional character the idea behind his story is worth celebrating. Although Dec. 25th was a pagan holiday and many of the symbols attached to Xmas (like the tree) come from Paganism as well, Xmas has been a national holiday in America all my lifetime and while I do nothing special for the day, I know many atheists who mark it with gift giving and feasting.
relies upon on the atheist. i'm an agnostic and nonetheless 'have fun' it with my relatives. on my own, I probably would not, on condition that Christmas isn't the day that Jesus became into born. He became into born in March, even though it became into too close to to Easter, and it became into greater handy to transform the Pagans by shifting it to their wintry climate joyful party. same with Easter. And Mardis Gras. and countless the vacations Christians have fun.
Christmas wasn't a christian frö the begining. Santa is not christian for instance. So atheist will probably celebrate christmas.
I believe they recognize and may celebrate the "holiday season" but not Christmas itself.
Uh, yes there would be. Or did you not know that Christmas was stolen from the Celtic Yule and the Roman Saturnalia?
I celebrate Yule, and so does every Christian I know... Why should the atheists be left out? It's secular to them.