I am new to this forum, so please bare with me. I am curious. I am new to this, but do atheists celebrate holidays like Christmas and Easter?
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I do! Hey, I don't believe in the supreme being famous to man as god. But I don't think that it means we can't celebrate any events of religions as much as we want. What's the basis? What, you can't exchange gifts with other people if you're an atheist?
Exactly, you can celebrate Christmas Solstice Hanuka or whatever you want because you don't believe in anything that would prevent you from celebrating any of these things if you are an atheist . You have a choice celebrate and have a good time or don't one to me sound a bit more fun or if you feel like being alone you could order takeout and catch a line free movie.
Now, this is a good question. Why would any Atheist celebrate Christmas? From where I'm standing it's some kind of subconscious acceptance of God.
Why would any Christian celebrate "Christmas" when it's more pagan than anything...
This is a great point, most christian holidays are Pagan in origin like for example Easter!
Most religions always celebrate at the same time of year, though they all insist on celebrating for different reasons. I have friends who just celebrate the cahnge of seasons, and that seems much simpler and more appropriate to me!
Btw everyone, harvest time is approaching :) It's time to feast!
I think festivals for Atheist are just an part of celebrating, Without even knowing the cause .
They seem to be trying to avoid god as much as possible but by one or the other way they seem to be relating them self to non-Atheist.
You've got it so much more than all wrong. Most of the festivals that religions celebrate were around way before there was a religion tacked onto it. People just like to party, and seem to require it at various intervals.
Hmmmm Sammy, I don't know if you got this right, religion goes back way back and astronomers do too but even the Germanic tribes, Indians of north Amereica and Many Chinese cultures, the e Incas the Aztecs and even the Egyptian hieroglyphs indicate religion. Now, it can be said there are certain times of year when certain crops come in and seasons change or equinox occurs that most religious holidays are based around. but to many these event now holidays were made aware by religion, I guess its fair to say the priest or equivalents knew a lot more than the simpletons long ago and had knowledge of the things that guided their religious instruction but still it would be fair to say the events existed long before the festivals but religion I would argue was the main reason for the festivities. I wonder what Natureman would have to say here?
... I'm pretty sure people knew when to pick their corn without God telling them to. And the Sun needs no permission from any religion to show Solstice to the people. The event happens before the explanation.
I dont see a connection between holidays and atheists? Even if it is a Christmas or Ramzan, one can always spend holidays as if they were on usual Sundays or summer or winter holidays..
I think that one can celebrate Holidays just like an occasion of being togheter with your family, even if you don't believe in traditional Christian celebrations...
Now I'm curious about this too. If you're an atheist and someone greets you "Merry Christmas," how do you respond?
I respond with Merry Christmas :) It's a holiday, and I hope they enjoy it. I appreciate the well wishes also. However, I'm just as likely to wish someone a Happy Friday :)
I pretty much respond the same way! I see no reason why my belief should stand in the way of others having a good time!
I say " Merry Christmas" you can call it yule if you want. I love christmas. Has nothing to do with god to me, it's santa clause and gifts! Easter is candy and ham and bunnies. Nothing to do with jesus for us.
I celebrate Christmas because I like stuff! Not to mention Christmas nowadays is mostly a cultural and commercialist Holiday anyway, also the majority of "Christian" Holiday practices are derived from Pagans. Such as Christmas trees. You could argue that "proper" Christians don't have Christmas trees for that reason, but I'm not a Christian. So doesn't that mean we're basically having separate celebrations anyway?
Holiday seasons are good occasions for doing business as well. I'm sure there are atheists and non-Christians out there who sells Christmas stuffs during the season. Its an opportunity to grab some earnings!
I have a daughter that's not quite 2 1/2. She has special needs and is on the level of a 6 month old. If it takes me carrying her around to find colorful eggs to see a smile on her face, I'll do it. I have to open her gifts for her because she still can't do that. That aside, I wouldn't want her to feel left out as she got older. It's more a family tradition than a religious tradition to me. When I think of Christmas, I think of presents. When I think of Easter, I think of colorful eggs, baskets, and kids dressed up with smiles on their faces. I don't think about the religious aspects of it anymore. It's all for the kids these days anyway. I don't think my daughter will ever ask me what Christmas means. She will just think of toys and fun things.
That a good answer in my opinion, but your daughter will probably ask someday what it means or what's it all about, and you should try explaining the history of the pagan holiday and explain how it evolved into Christmas.
I agree that it's often more about family traditions than religious traditions.
Happy holidays to you and your daughter!
Easter is one holiday that I do not celebrate, but now that I am thinking about it... It may be nice to have a picnic or some kind of gathering simply for the company and time of year. I have actually been considering holding a Day of Life and Day of Death (idea coming from Dia de los Muertos) for my family and friends. Otherwise I celebrate all of the other holidays simply for gathering, not religion.
You should consider celebrating Pagan style it's a bit more fun! But yeah, Equinox is a good time to celebrate and also the most fertile time of year.
I'm not an atheist but not also a Christian but I attend parties and festivals. Its my way of getting together with friends and relatives. I just don't give gifts because giving can be done at any time or whether there's occasion or not.
It's a good way to get together with family and friends! Most of my family is actually not religious at all, but even though we don't feel for the holiday per se, it's tough to organize a time for us to all get together other than holidays.
This reminds me of a joke I heard from a Jewish politician. Question: What is there for Jewish people to do on Christmas. Answer: Order Chinese food and go see a movie, it's best time of year to do it.
I usually just go with the flow and, to me, holidays are more of a feeling inside of me than something religious. I am not a big fan of Christmas but I have children so I celebrate it as a family and leave it at that.
I am also curios for the answers and so I read the posts on this thread. :D
It was nice to read that atheist also celebrate those occasions since everyone have the right to celebrate and it is way better than to not socialized and have a nice time with the family.
ginamoon you do know that atheism is not a religion? It is "not believing" in gods. There are no rules and we have nothing else in common. Many atheist do happen to be somewhat liberal and inclined toward secular humanism, but not of us can speak for the others with this kind of question. That's why most answers you get are "I do ..." or "for me its....".
To answer your question correctly I will just point out that human beings generally seek out friends and joy whenever they can. Christmas and Easter hold no significance for atheists but they are a time when people take time from work and be with family and friends so we do.
This song expresses my feelings about Christmas in Australia http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCNvZqpa-7Q
Holiday season is great for businesses and leisure too so I think atheist would also love this season even if it does not make sense for them.
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