Juliette wrote:Shadowfax wrote:Im an atheist.. 'OMG I CAN'T WAIT TILL CHRISTMAS!'
^ Ok... why? How? What the? I don't even >.<
Some people celebrate the giving and receiving of gifts and the spirit of being with family rather than the religious aspects of the holiday. This tends to occur because they were brought up in a Christian household and are accustomed to the holiday. For some, like myself, the religious part of the celebration is optional; of course it wasn't supposed to be that way, but I don't see why non-religious people can't exchange gifts and have a festive get-together with their families on the same day. Loads of people do it.
From the Reddit atheist FAQ:
Do atheists celebrate Christmas?
Many atheists celebrate a variety of holidays with religious origins or connotations, but don't think that makes them hypocritical. For instance, Christmas isn't exclusively a Christian holiday, it's celebrated throughout the world as a time to celebrate with your family, exchange gifts, and reflect on things as the year draws to a close. As cultures change, they take the best parts of the past and bring them into the future. For example, we know that Jesus wasn't really born on December 25, if he was born at all. Midwinter festivals have a long tradition, and Christian feast days often coincided with pagan religious festivals as the culture grew and changed. There are plenty of examples of pagan influences over religious holidays, like Christmas trees, Christmas lights, flying reindeer, virgin births, and a rabbit distributing colored eggs. Christmas isn't the only thing that has religious significance and been taken into the culture at large. There are other examples of pagan influence on our calendars, such as the names of days and months.
You don't need to believe in God to put a tree in your house and decorate it with lights.
This pretty much summarizes my personal thoughts on the subject.
Also, celebrating Christmas is a pretty good cover, because it makes people think I'm Christian. Muahahahaha they have no idea.




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