What is an Atheist Christmas?

I don't think it is a dilemma at all...

Christian parents "teach" Santa Claus, right? What the heck does Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer, a fat man in a red suit and spoiling children rotten while filling them full of lies they will sadly unravel in 5 or 6 years have to do with Christianity?

It's all whatever you want it to be.

Some people (ahem) only think it has greater meaning with religious significance. Look at what all the time and money is spend on...it's pure paganism dressed up in modern capitalistic clothing.

Celebrate and be happy.

Well first of all, you don't actually know if he was putting it up for Christmas. A lot of atheists celebrate the winter solstice instead. Just ask Richard Dawkins :D Besides, even if he was calling it a christmas tree (not a solstice tree), that's still not a big deal. I'm an atheist too, and I celebrate christmas because I'll celebrate any holiday where presents are involved. Besides, christmas is more about Santa than jesus now anyway. I personally believe that Jews should be able to celebrate christmas if they want to too. As Sara Silverman Said: "Though I don't think he's the son of God, I think he was still a nice boy. If you ask yourself "What would Jesus do?", He'd say give the Jew girl toys, give the Jew girl toys, Give the Jew girl toys." _____________________________________ Edit: As far as atheists not having a "wholsome" christmas, my grandmother (an atheist) has held christmas and thanksgiving every year since I can remember in order to bring to whole family together, relatives coming from across the country. You don't have to believe in jesus in order to have a meaningful christmas. I would've listed family for one of my reasons, but I'm mad at most of them right now...

Give kids a message of warmth and family support and togetherness. Which is what most mid-winter celebrations, which were almost universal for cultures in Northerly latitudes, were about initially. Families need to depend on one another through the lean times of short days and long nights. Since they've learned about Santa from cartoons, the best "meaning of Christmas" that isn't directly connected to Christ would be from the letter, "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.":

We take pleasure in answering thus prominently the communication below, expressing at the same time our great gratification that its faithful author is numbered among the friends of The Sun:

"Dear Editor--I am eight years old.

Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus.

Papa says, 'If you see it in The Sun, it's so.'

Please tell me the truth, is there a Santa Claus?

Virginia O'Hanlon

115 W. 95th Street"

Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the scepticism of a sceptical age. They do not believe except they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men's or children's are little. In this great universe of ours man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect, as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge.

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus! It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias. There would be no child-like faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The eternal light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.

I always tell folks that I participate in christmas, but I don't celebrate christmas. I enjoy the family togetherness (to a point!) and all, and even go to church because one side of the family expects me to, but I certainly don't think that jesus was divine or any sort of god.

From the point of view of a parent though, it certainly is different. It's nice to have the family tradition of warmth and togetherness. Perhaps call it christmas while the kids are little and work in some earlier solstice/pagan/yule traditions as they get older and can understand better. You'll find a way to establish your own mid-winter traditions and likely as not, everyone will call it christmas because it's easy.

The winter solstice was never a Christian holiday to begin with. The idea of getting together in the dead of winter to feast and celebrate family and life is something that goes all the way back to the pagans.

We might as well ask "What is a Jewish Halloween", or "What is a Hindu Thanksgiving", or "What is a Muslim Valentine's Day". Holidays become secular practices. Get over it.

Don't listen to SOME of these atheists who have abandoned logic, and chosen idealogy to trump all. There is no "atheist" dogma or belief on this subject, okay? As far as I'm concerned, Christmas is a Christian holiday with some influences from nonchristian sources, just like our American government is influenced by other governments from antiquity (the Romans and Greeks), but our government is still called an "American government" and Christmas is still a "Christian holiday" despite it's outside influences.

You can celebrate this holiday, just without Jesus, or with Jesus. Who cares? I mean, if you're atheist it means you don't believe in it anyway, why is it a problem? Play "Away on a manger" and "Ring Christmas Bells" and all the other Christmas carols and innuendos, I don't see why you have to shelter your kids from Jesus. That being said, you can totally celebrate the holiday without going to church or placing any emphasis on Christianity. I totally respect that.

Go ahead and celebrate it, every American, including atheists do it, it's just that some like to rationalize and try to build up an idealogy where Christmas is not Christmas, it's this secret pagan, "solstice," "Saturnalia," "Germanic," the list goes on and on about all of the excuses some atheists come up with, just to discredit Christianity! By golly, please don't be like them. Just enjoy the holiday for what it is. You can celebrate it as a secular holiday.

It can be absolutely anything you want it to be. Christians view it as a day celebrating the birth of Jesus, Pagans view it as a day of worship for the god Yule, and most non-religious people view Christmas as a time of focusing on the family and being generous.

It's pretty much exactly the same as a Christian Christmas, only without the idea of magical beings.

It's a celebration of love and family.

Christmas, to me, is a time to catch up with loved ones and friends. It's all about the experience in socializing with the people you care about. It's a time to reminiscence about yesteryear. More importantly, though, it's time to spend with the only things that matter in life.

It's a fun time for families and friends to get togeather in the dead of winter... simple answer, for me there's much more but to worship someone isn't one of them...

there are more than one reason to party on any given day...