Celebrating Christmas as an Atheist

[SkepticSatanist]

Christmas is a sham. It's not Christian at all! If you look into pagan solstice celebrations, Christmas rips off a bunch of them all at once. In a way, Christmas is acceptable blasphemy in order to convert pagans. to have a competing holiday that made non-believers more comfortable.

As for me, me and my family celebrate the winter solstice. The same traditions of the tree, stockings, lights, all that jazz, but on the 21st (the winter solstice). It was awesome when I was a kid. I mean, early christmas?! Hell yea!

[EquALLity]

I think that is exactly why it bothers me though...they don't think about it. i know they dont do it to be mean but at the same time they aren't necessarily being courteous either.

But how is it offensive to you? Modern Christmas is secular.

I think that it's, to a tiny extent, promoting the idea that there is a war on Christmas by getting upset by people telling you, "Merry Christmas". They're just being nice.

Actually, i think some in Texas definitely do do this

Well, maybe some. It is Texas, yeah.
But I don't think you should make that assumption.

[Jebus]

Interesting fact: Did you know the bible actually forbids Xmas trees (quite explicitly, before they were called that, of course)?

Jeremiah 10:2-4 King James Version (KJV)

2 Thus saith the Lord, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them.
3 For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe.
4 They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not.

I used that tidbit during my annual Christmas celebration with my very catholic in-laws. The information was not exactly met with excitement and joy. My brother-in-law than spent an hour on the Internet and came back saying that the passage refers to the making of fake gods out of wood. After reading it a second time, I had to concede and agree with that interpretation.

[brimstoneSalad]

My brother-in-law than spent an hour on the Internet and came back saying that the passage refers to the making of fake gods out of wood. After reading it a second time, I had to concede and agree with that interpretation.

It's a pagan custom, and yes they worshiped nature (to some extent), but the passage isn't about worship; it's about adopting customs irrespective of worship. The issue Jeremiah is taking is with the pagan celebration in all its elements, being in vain.

He says "learn not", not "don't learn too much" or "learn a little bit".

The custom has certainly evolved a bit (they probably didn't cut such large pieces, mainly taking branches inside, and apparently also decorated trees outside), and there may have been some carving involved too in some cases (which is not something Jeremiah mentions specifically and probably didn't care about), but it's the same kind of thing.
It's celebrated on the solstice (signs of the heavens), the darkest day of the year, bringing symbols of life inside in the form of green branches, and decorating them.

That's like saying it's wrong to lieth with a man as one lieth with a woman, but if you do it standing up it's fine.
Christians and their loopholes. They'll believe whatever they want if they can cherry pick and reinterpret things at whim to fit their preferences.

Jehovah's witnesses have the most strict and literal interpretation of the Bible of any sect I've seen, and they don't celebrate Christmas, having strong scriptural reasons not to. Catholics are basically polytheists, with all of the idols of and praying to saints and adopting local animistic tradition; there's not much of the Bible in their beliefs anymore.

[Jebus]

The issue Jeremiah is taking is with the pagan celebration in all its elements, being in vain.

It's celebrated on the solstice (signs of the heavens), the darkest day of the year, bringing symbols of life inside in the form of green branches, and decorating them.

Perhaps I am misunderstanding you but there is no way the authors of the bible could have known about the pagan solstice celebration (which took place in Northern Europe).

[brimstoneSalad]

Perhaps I am misunderstanding you but there is no way the authors of the bible could have known about the pagan solstice celebration (which took place in Northern Europe).

As I understand, this was done by pagans throughout Europe and down to Egypt, where they apparently used palm branches instead of evergreens (same idea).

[death_by_rage]

A majority of Christians who do celebrate it, do so for the wrong reasons. I've seen too many unappreciative Christian kids throw royal tantrums because they don't get the particular gift they wanted. The whole holiday has become a joke to me. I do attend the gatherings just because I enjoy being with the family... But I feel so out of place

[gab236]

Perhaps I am misunderstanding you but there is no way the authors of the bible could have known about the pagan solstice celebration (which took place in Northern Europe).

The solstice was celebrated by the romans (saturnalia) and it is more likely to be the real origin of christmas and the authors of the bible knew these festivities. They integrated these pagan holidays in order to provide a sense of continuity, this idea was also from the romans.