My mom & I were discussing this in the car this morning. I said that if I had kids I'd still buy them gifts on Christmas but that "meaning of Christmas" crap & all those horrid decorations would be left out...
queenthesbian
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I am actually celebrating Winter Solstice. And that includes gift giving to family and friends.
Since Winter Solstice & Christmas celebrations look so similar, most people assume I am celebrating Christmas, and I don't bother telling anyone otherwise.
There is a lot of prejidice and open hostility against non-Christians, so in my everyday life I just keep it to myself.
And Christmas has been turned into a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" holiday for non-believers.
If you wish someone a "Happy Holiday" or let it be known that you don't celebrate Christmas then you are accused of "waging war" against Christians, Christianity and Jesus Christ himself. If you try to join in the Christmas celebration and utter the word Christmas, and someone finds out your AREN'T a Christian, you are called a hypocrit, and told you have NO RIGHT to celebrate Christmas, because you aren't a Christian.
So much for "peace on earth, good will toward men".
thatgaybloke
Christmas as it is celebrated in modern times has little to do with Christianity for most people. What Christmas means to me is a celebration of family and friends, a few days off work and a mid-winter feast, an opportunity to indulge yourself.
It's a traditional, annual celebration and as an atheist I can quite happily celebrate all of those things without the need for any the mumbo-jumbo claptrap. In any case, it was a pagan festival that was appropriated by the early Christians and so doesn't belong to Christianity anyway.
flashdench
Atheist here, who decorates the house, the tree, and even dresses up in a fat suit on occassion. They're kids! Christians don't believe in Santa, but they maintain the fiction for kids, cause it's really a special time for kids.
Also, as for the whole Jesus' birthday, well I'm ok telling my daughters about that, but I point out that SOME people believe this and that. They've got plenty of time to work out the deal with Santa and Jesus when they get older.
future_man_uk
Yes I do. Because Christmas was a pagan celebration over mid-winter before it was taken over by Christianity. There is nothing to suggest Jesus was born anywhere near this time of year.
Religion and politics are one and the same and the taking of the pagan mid-winter festival by the religion of the ruling powers was just a part of extending their ideological influence.
Sweetie
Christmas is no longer about the birth of Jesus Christ, its about giving gifts so as a child to two atheist parents we have always celebrated Christmas