why do you celebrate christmas, christians or atheist?

Xmas time is a time of year and culturally in Oz it's when we go visit family and friends and catch up.

There is NO jesus in xmas AND it was celebration time LONG before xianity stole it.

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It 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!!!

Scratch the Christian and you find the pagan – spoiled. - Israel Zangwill

I celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.

atheists just do it for the presents. They're the reason why Christmas is so commercialized now, and why few, if any people know what Christmas is actually about.

I would like to know why athiests, especially those who hate Christians, and do nothing but trash and ridicule our faith, also celebrate a religious holiday.

Those who don't believe in Jesus, shouldn't be celebrating his birthday.

Jews, paigans, and other such people also have holidays that fall around the same time, but you don't see the atheists flocking to celebrate haunakkah, no. they hijack our holiday and ruin it.

[to the asker] so basically, you're saying that us Christians no longer have the right to celebrate Jesus's birth on Christmas, because you read somewhere that he was most likely born in the spring?

I'm a Christian...and you are right he was most likely born in the spring. I love God but I think Christmas is stupid...every year i dread it more....it's just more pressure to spend money I don't have.

I got a few presents for my mom...cause she would have been hurt otherwise....but other than that...i don't celebrate it.

I am christian and i don't celebrate any holidays, besides communion once a month.

My reasons are fairly simple in complexity (as i have not sacrificehe bible enough to where i feel comfortable to fully address this issue.)

But basically: All modern holiday's are pagan in origin and research will show how most traditions are actually symbols for terrible past rituals.

Mostly though,I don't want to sacrifice my chance to get saved just to satisfy my own selfish lusts.

A lot of people will try to argue against this...

But they are just willfully ignorant

The only christians that celebrate it are the ones who are unaware of it's origin. They decorate trees and give gifts thinking it began as Christ's birth, when it is nothing more than a Pagan holiday at heart. If you want to celebrate Christ's birth, do it EVERY day then.

In all honesty, I celebrate the Christmas presents for tradition. But every year on Christmas Day I do say, "Happy Birthday Jesus".

EDIT--- If Jesus was born in spring why would you worry about a winter holiday? Perhaps that then was when Jesus died on the cross for all of us. Also called Easter?

I don't follow any religion and I'm also unsure of what I believe in. So I'm sort of up in the air about everything.

I still celebrate Christmas though. My main reason is just because it is fun! Who doesn't love to put up the Christmas tree with the pretty lights and decorations? Who doesn't love to eat yummy treats and have a big dinner? Who doesn't love to gather around the table and laugh and talk with your family? And of course, who doesn't love watching all the kids open their gifts?

It is a magical time for me, with or without religion.

To celebrate the Birth of Our Lord, Jesus Christ.

And my religion celebrates it for Twelve Days.

But heck, we celebrate Easter for eight weeks, so some say we over-do things...

Edit* We didn't say He was born on that day. I said we celebrate it on that day. Were the presidents inaugurated on President's Day? Were all the trees in the world planted on Arbor Day? Was the Earth created on Earth Day? No. We just pick a day to celebrate something we want to celebrate.

I am agnostic and don\t usually celebrate christmas because I live in a Muslim country where it is not celebrated. When I am at home I celebrate with my family but it's more like a family reunion with presents