LidiyaDawn Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 (edited) A while back I was reading a conversation and someone made a comment about how they didn't celebrate Christmas because they (and their family) were not Christians. I thought to myself "ah" and kept reading - expecting to discover that they were [whatever] .. but as it turned out, they weren't of any other [whatever]. They were atheists - and THAT is where I had a moment of :001_huh: Why? Because I really hadn't given much thought to that before… Christmas, as I know/knew it, is not just for Christians… I grew up mostly in an Atheist family and we always did Christmas - the whole tree, presents, Santa, family gatherings, fruitcake & eggnog, big Christmas thing. As a kid* I knew that "some people think it's that Jesus guy's birthday" but I didn't care because we didn't believe that - Christmas was just a fun time filled with presents and yummy stuff. :D As an adult, I have celebrated Christmas as both a secular holiday AND a Christian holiday. This year… I'm not sure what we're doing. It's been an interesting year for me and I've let go of Christianity - that's a completely different thread though. /tangent So now I'm curious…if you grew up in an atheist family - did you celebrate Christmas? If you are currently an Atheist - do you celebrate Christmas? *i mean no disrespect with the "jesus guy" comment - that's how i thought as a kid. ;) Edited November 3, 2011 by LidiyaDawn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momof3littles Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 DH grew up in a mostly atheist household and celebrated Christmas as a child. I grew up in a Christian household and we celebrated it religiously. As adults, we no longer consider ourselves Christian religiously, but we still celebrate secularly as a cultural thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thescrappyhomeschooler Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 I'm not an atheist, per se, but I don't affiliate myself with any religion. I'm more of an agnostic, leaning toward believing in a god, but a god that people can't truly understand. I'm married to a non-religious Jew, so he didn't ever celebrate Christmas until he married me. I love Christmas! I decorate the house, hang up stockings, bake Christmas cookies, play Christmas music (even the religious carols). I used to make clay nativity sets for my family. I made one for a sister one year, then everyone wanted one. I do talk to the kids about Christmas being a religious holiday that the church established to celebrate the birth of Jesus. But, we celebrate it in an almost entirely secular way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 We call it Christmas and do most of the Christmassy things that you mention. We also attend carol services, because both boys sing in the school choirs which perform as part of them. For that matter we go to Remembrance Day services in church too. I've not met CofE/Church of Scotland members who would not welcome us. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plucky Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 I grew up in an Atheist family and we did Christmas. Not well, but we did it. :) We are Christians and don't really make it about Jesus. We talk about Him and His birth, and they know that a lot of Christians celebrate Jesus' birth on that day, but they know it isn't His real birth. For us it is just a fun family holiday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Elf Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 So now I'm curious…if you grew up in an atheist family - did you celebrate Christmas? If you are currently an Atheist - do you celebrate Christmas? As a child, we absolutely celebrated Christmas. Of course, I was attending a Catholic school but not for religious reasons. We didn't do Jesus-stuff in my house. As a teenager, it was definitely all secular. Now, I'm the only sort-of-Christian in my household. DH and children are mostly atheist. I don't care what Christians say, Christmas is no longer all about Jesus. In fact, last year, I was amazed that of all the churches in my area, there was only one that had a sign in the yard that said something about Jesus is the reason for the season. No other churches decorated or anything. And I live in the Bible belt. We don't have anything religious in our decorations. Our tree topper is a star, although it's varied as well. One year it was Eeyore, one year a stuffed teddy bear. Another year we made a homemade sign that said '[last name] family Christmas.' I don't know what we're going to do this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nukeswife Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 I didn't grow up in an atheist family but may as well have. My family was a non-practicing Polish catholic family. We never went to church until it was time for me to take 1st communion classes and then I was sent to classes and church services until I received it to please my one practicing Grandma. My family never went to mass with me though, just me alone. My dh was raised Roman Catholic and until college was very much involved in the church. I tried to believe over the years first doing RCIA classes and then dh and I became members of a Lutheran Church once we realized that we didn't truly believe all that Catholics do. We then realized we're really not religious at all. I now consider myself an atheist and my husband considers himself somewhat of an agnostic but is still not truly sure what he believes. Anyway on to christmas. We celebrate it in a truly secular way, with the tree, presents, decorations and Santa but nothing religious plays into it at all. I would prefer to call it something else but I'm not sure what. My kids like to call what we celebrate Festivus because as a joke dh and I decided to try that on for size one year. We don't do all the Costanza Festivus traditions, but the kids like to try to wrestle dh to the ground in order to get a present on Festivus day. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wabi Sabi Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 We're more or less an agnostic/atheist family, and yes, we celebrate Christmas. My kids know about the birth of Jesus and are becoming more familiar with Bible stories since I think that's important from a cultural literacy standpoint, but overall we do Christmas purely out of family tradition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie Smith Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 I grew up in a atheist family, and we did Christmas. My Mom sometimes mentioned the religion behind it. My Mom is not atheist. (In a I believe and think that people who do something about/with faith are great). But my Father is very atheist. (In a let's all read skeptical inquirer and when the subject comes up try to keep to myself the opinion that they are all in some brainwashed crazy cult.) My Mom was the one behind doing all the Christmas stuff, but my Dad enjoyed having it all done since he likes to party. Personally we now celebrate Christmas in our house, but only because of extended family. My SIL comes over with her family and brings Christmas dinner to my house. We exchange a few presents. Since my dh likes it we do set up a tree and some Christmas activities (make cookies...). I would be just as happy to skip the whole thing. We also spend some time at Christmas at my parents house who go all out for the season. I did warn my dh and my SIL that after my FIL no longer cares, Christmas meal time is changing. I am vegetarian, and so our my kids. We are going to plan a large fancy sushi dinner. :) No big platter of meat as the main course. (I also hate some of the other things that are part of their traditional Christmas dinner.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer3141 Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 Anyway on to christmas. We celebrate it in a truly secular way, with the tree, presents, decorations and Santa but nothing religious plays into it at all. I would prefer to call it something else but I'm not sure what. My kids like to call what we celebrate Festivus because as a joke dh and I decided to try that on for size one year. We don't do all the Costanza Festivus traditions, but the kids like to try to wrestle dh to the ground in order to get a present on Festivus day. :lol: OMG, you are us!!! But no feats of strength?? :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PiCO Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 I grew up atheist, and I'm still atheist. I have always and always will celebrate Christmas. I even call it Christmas, because that's what everyone else in our culture calls it. I am celebrating the same thing people in the Northern Hemisphere have celebrated for thousands of years- the winter solstice. The longest night is over- now the days will start getting longer. And yes, we have a Yule tree, and Santa, just as my ancestors have since well before the birth of Christ. We also take the time to remember and reconnect with family. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twoforjoy Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 My DH is a completely non-religious agnostic, and he LOVES Christmas. He loves it way more than I do. We spend much of November and December trying to compromise between my desire to have as low-key a Christmas as possible and his to go as all-out as possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desert Rat Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 I was raised Christian, but am atheist now. We are close with my family, so the kids know a little bit about that aspect of Christmas. We celebrate as a purely secular holiday-presents, Santa, tree, cookies, etc. We also listen to Christmas carols. It's the only time I'm sad that I'm not Christian, listening to those carols. I wish I could feel what these people felt when the wrote and sang them. We call our annual open house during the holidays a winter celebration. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jplain Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 Raised Catholic, but I am an atheist. Growing up, we lit candles for Advent, and there was a creche under the tree until Christmas Eve, when it was replaced by presents. :tongue_smilie: As an adult, my family celebrates Christmas secularly with tree, stockings, Santa presented as a fairy tale, big family gatherings, presents, etc. I do explain to my kids that many people celebrate Christmas as the birth of Jesus. I emphasize to them that the birth of Jesus is not part of our (DH's and my) reasons for celebrating Christmas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Elf Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 I did warn my dh and my SIL that after my FIL no longer cares, Christmas meal time is changing. I am vegetarian, and so our my kids. We are going to plan a large fancy sushi dinner. :) No big platter of meat as the main course. (I also hate some of the other things that are part of their traditional Christmas dinner.) Does your SIL like sushi? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amey311 Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 Raised Methodist (and DH was raised "non-denominational Christian"). He's now atheist and I'm agnostic. I love Christmas and do as much as I can with a dear spouse who spends October - January complaining about rampant consumerism. He calls it "Giftmas." I've told religious solicitors that we celebrate a Santa Christmas, not a Jesus Christmas. I have a friend who is a Secular Humanist and she celebrates Solstice. I keep thinking about that, but I just can't get the mental wherewithal to be ready to deal with things 5 days earlier :) That said, in my house growing up, the big dinner night was Christmas Eve. CHristmas Day was for unwrapping and laziness, often with leftovers or similar for dinner. We've made it about going out for Chinese and to the movies. It's the one time of the year we do sit-down Chinese (rather than take-away) and we get a Pu-Pu platter which the kids love (that little sterno flame is exciting!). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShutterBug Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 (edited) Genuinely curious about this phenomenon of non Christians celebrating Christian holidays..do non-Christians who celebrate Christmas also celebrate the Jewish holidays too..ya' know, in a secular way? Just wondering why this trend only seems to happen with Christian holidays. Is there just more respect for the holidays/sacred days of other religions? I wonder if my Jewish friends would be offended if I decided to celebrate Hanukkah this year, you know..just cuz'...don't worry...I'm going to cut out all of the religious-y stuff of the holiday and just put up lots of blue and white lights..maybe I'll keep the candles cuz' they're pretty and then we're going to start a new tradition of eating different kinds of fondue each night for eight nights. Edited November 3, 2011 by ShutterBug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amey311 Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 Genuinely curious about this phenomenon of non Christians celebrating Christian holidays..do non-Christians who celebrate Christmas also celebrate the Jewish holidays too..ya' know, in a secular way? It's a cultural tradition. I was brought up celebrating it. I wasn't brought up celebrating the Jewish holidays (or Diwali or Eid or Solstice, etc). I still like the tree (a pagan/secular aspect, let's be honest) and gifts (because presents are fun!) and lights, etc. DH doesn't like the term Christmas for how we celebrate specifically for the reason you mention - we're not celebrating Christ. Hence his preference for Giftmas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie Smith Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 Genuinely curious about this phenomenon of non Christians celebrating Christian holidays..do non-Christians who celebrate Christmas also celebrate the Jewish holidays too..ya' know, in a secular way? I think it's because in Canada and the US a few generations ago most families where Christian and celebrated Christmas. But many kids grew up and stopped being Christian but kept the Christmas holiday traditions they were raised with. Then they had kids who were never even raised Christian but where raised celebrating Christmas. So after this happening all over America Christmas starting being a family tradition unrelated to religion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie Smith Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 Does your SIL like sushi? Yes. Everyone in the family does. Well, I'm not sure about my SIL new husband. (She got married this summer). Also I would have at that had to deal with traditional Christmas dinners for 20 years or more. It would be time for a change! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momof3littles Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 It's a cultural tradition. I was brought up celebrating it. I wasn't brought up celebrating the Jewish holidays (or Diwali or Eid or Solstice, etc). I still like the tree (a pagan/secular aspect, let's be honest) and gifts (because presents are fun!) and lights, etc. :iagree: It was part of my family culture. Other (non-Christian) religious holidays are not. FWIW, we do read lots of Hanukkah books during Hanukkah to expose our children to the holiday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momof3littles Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 Genuinely curious about this phenomenon of non Christians celebrating Christian holidays..do non-Christians who celebrate Christmas also celebrate the Jewish holidays too..ya' know, in a secular way? Just wondering why this trend only seems to happen with Christian holidays. Is there just more respect for the holidays/sacred days of other religions? I wonder if my Jewish friends would be offended if I decided to celebrate Hanukkah this year, you know..just cuz'...don't worry...I'm going to cut out all of the religious-y stuff of the holiday and just put up lots of blue and white lights..maybe I'll keep the candles cuz' they're pretty and then we're going to start a new tradition of eating different kinds of fondue each night for eight nights. There are culturally Jewish folks who celebrate Hannukah even though they don't actively practice their religion any longer. That's because it is part of *their* culture (and it isn't part of mine, having been raised in a Christian household). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catz Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 We're Unitarian and definitely celebrate secularly. Our UU church has Hanukkah, Solstice, Christmas, and Kwanzaa all acknowledged that month so we cover all our bases. Honestly, we need a month to party to get through a Minnesota winter. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jplain Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 (edited) Genuinely curious about this phenomenon of non Christians celebrating Christian holidays... We're not picky. As a family we celebrate any religious holidays that are celebrated secularly within our culture. Some of them happen to be Christian, but as far as I know, there's nothing Biblical about the Easter Bunny or Santa Claus or Christmas trees. ;) We also celebrate Halloween, Thanksgiving, St. Patrick's Day, Valentine's Day, Groundhog Day, Fourth of July, and New Year's. Some of these have religious meaning for some people, but we celebrate them as they're celebrated secularly in the US. I could flip the question around and ask you this: why muddle your religious holiday with non-Christian trappings like Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny? Of course some Christians do strongly object to these things. But that's pretty unusual. Most embrace the secular symbols too. Edited November 3, 2011 by jplain Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janie Grace Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 I grew up with divorced parents -- Christian Mom, atheist Dad. We celebrated Christmas at both houses. It was VERY different. Even if a Christian family does presents, cookies, etc. the "heart" of the celebration feels different (well, maybe I shouldn't speak in generalities, but it was the case for me). Dad's Christmas: Amazing food, expensive presents, tree, carols on CD player, etc. The main attraction was the presents. Mom's Christmas: Weeks of build-up doing an Advent calendar/reading Scripture, reading Christmas story on Christmas morning before presents, prayer, singing carols together (as well as listening to recordings), food, presents, tree, the whole day peppered with mentions of the BIG GIFT of Jesus. For me, it wasn't the same holiday at both houses. I enjoyed both, but the Christian Christmas was a very different experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Elf Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 Genuinely curious about this phenomenon of non Christians celebrating Christian holidays..do non-Christians who celebrate Christmas also celebrate the Jewish holidays too..ya' know, in a secular way? I have never seen Jewish holidays made secular, so no, I don't celebrate those. I don't celebrate Muslim holidays either. I don't celebrate Lent because it is not secularized. Christmas and Easter are the only holidays I know of that are secularized. I'll take a look, but I don't remember seeing anything about Jesus at Walmart, Target, and Toys R Us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorCalMom Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 (edited) . Edited November 4, 2011 by cowgirl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Elf Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 Yes. Everyone in the family does. Well, I'm not sure about my SIL new husband. (She got married this summer). Also I would have at that had to deal with traditional Christmas dinners for 20 years or more. It would be time for a change! Then cool! We don't do traditional dinners either. We don't do traditional desserts either. We just cook regular meals like any other day of the week. I don't bake period, but I might buy some Christmas cookies because they are sugar cookies with sprinkles. :tongue_smilie: I do like doing some traditional stuff for Thankgiving and the idea of doing the same meal for Christmas is not appealing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jujsky Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 (edited) My kids are growing up in an agnostic family and we celebrate both Christmas and Hanukkah. DH is ethnically a Jew, but didn't grow up celebrating Jewish holidays. My extended family was Catholic on one side, Methodist on the other, but my immediate family didn't go to church (Dad didn't want us raised Catholic, but he wouldn't go to his Methodist church with Mom and she didn't want to take us by herself). My kids are fine. We explain what different people believe. They know about Jesus, Santa, Judah Maccabee. Our close friends are pagan and celebrate Yule, so we've talked quite a bit about that too. Edited to add: I just saw a question about Jewish holidays being celebrated in a secular way. We do the fun things of Hanukkah. We also study the Jewish history, but we don't worship in the Jewish faith. I'm not sure if that makes sense. The kids know the story of Hanukkah and how the oil that was supposed to last one night lasted 8 instead. They also know the story of baby Jesus and his birth. Knowing the stories doesn't mean my kids believe the stories. They know that historically there was a man named Judah Maccabee. They know historically there was a man named Jesus. Whether the oil for one day really lasted 8 as a true miracle, or whether they miscalculated and really had enough is a matter for discussion in our house. Whether Jesus was just a good man who practiced kind acts or whether he was truly the son of God is also a matter for discussion in our house. I don't know if that answers any of your questions, but that's how we do the holidays at our house. We discuss similar things at Easter and Passover too (both of which we celebrate). We don't believe the faith part of it, but we recognize the history and the importance of those stories/facts (depending on what you believe) in world culture and history. Edited November 3, 2011 by jujsky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdventureMoms Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 We are secular/athiest and we do celebrate Christmas (and Easter) as a family and cultural holiday. We come from Christian families so this makes sense. I know secular Jews (non-believers who come from Jewish families) who celebrate Jewish holidays. This is less common because there are simply fewer Jewish people in the US and also because Judaism is not the dominant culture here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
********* Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 (edited) Dh and I are devout conservative Christians. The small degree to which we celebrate/participate in Christmas is exclusively and completely secular. We do not recognize the day as a religious holiday. In fact, we do not celebrate any holidays in a 'religious' way. Our children know that some (many?) people celebrate Christmas as the birthday of Jesus. They also know that some children believe Santa is real. That said, they also know dh and I do not agree with either of these things, as well as our reasons for believing what we do. Interestingly, if it were not for our extended, non-religous family's desire to celebrate Christmas with us, we would do nothing at all to recognize the day as different from any other. Edited November 3, 2011 by bethanyniez Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenangelcat Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 Genuinely curious about this phenomenon of non Christians celebrating Christian holidays..do non-Christians who celebrate Christmas also celebrate the Jewish holidays too..ya' know, in a secular way? Just wondering why this trend only seems to happen with Christian holidays. Is there just more respect for the holidays/sacred days of other religions? I wonder if my Jewish friends would be offended if I decided to celebrate Hanukkah this year, you know..just cuz'...don't worry...I'm going to cut out all of the religious-y stuff of the holiday and just put up lots of blue and white lights..maybe I'll keep the candles cuz' they're pretty and then we're going to start a new tradition of eating different kinds of fondue each night for eight nights. Because largely due to businesses wanting to sell lots of crap, the major Christian holidays (which have non-Christian origins) have morphed into secular/cultural celebrations. In addition, like a pp said, kids grew up celebrating these holidays and the religious aspects got diluted out. My mom and grandma are technically Anglican but religion was never apart of Christmas and thus I am an atheist and I love to celebrate a secular Christmas. For us, it's a celebration of family and friends as well as a way to insert light and fun into a dark, cold gloomy time of the year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mycalling Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 We are atheists and we celebrate Christmas. Most of our atheist friends celebrate the season as Yule, but I think it's easier to use the name most of society uses. I have considered changing to calling it Yule though. I think it's fun doing all the seasonal stuff, the tree, the gifts, Santa and I don't want my kids to miss out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stages Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 We are an atheist family, and we celebrate Christmas at MIL's house. Most of our family are Christians, but the holiday itself is fairly secular at her house. We do presents, junk food, looking for lights, and all that stuff. It was funny, though- last year DD (not quite 3 at the time) found MIL's nativity set. MIL explained what all the pieces are, and DD decided baby Jesus needed to go potty in the well. Repeatedly. He also slept in the food trough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amey311 Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 He also slept in the food trough. It does look like a cradle. :tongue_smilie: How did MIL react to Jesus's toileting habits? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janie Grace Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 He also slept in the food trough. That's where he DID sleep! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathleen in VA Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 Dh and I are devout conservative Christians. The small degree to which we celebrate/participate in Christmas is exclusively and completely secular. We do not recognize the day as a religious holiday. In fact, we do not celebrate any holidays in a 'religious' way. Our children know that some (many?) people celebrate Christmas as the birthday of Jesus. They also know that some children believe Santa is real. That said, they also know dh and I do not agree with either of these things, as well as our reasons for believing what we do. Interestingly, if it were not for our extended, non-religous family's desire to celebrate Christmas with us, we would do nothing at all to recognize the day as different from any other. This is our family as well - devout conservative Christians who do not see Christmas as a religious day at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
********* Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 While I love and respect my atheists friends, my heart truly aches that they do not experience the same joy I feel in loving and celebrating Jesus. While I totally agree with this sentiment, I truly (no snark) have no idea what it has to do with celebrating Christmas as a religious holiday. A Christian should feel joy in loving and celebrating the gift of Jesus every day. Not just on Christmas, or even especially on Christmas. JMHO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Elf Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 We are atheists and we celebrate Christmas. Most of our atheist friends celebrate the season as Yule, but I think it's easier to use the name most of society uses. I have considered changing to calling it Yule though. I've had the exact same thought. Every single year, the question of why do non-believers celebrate Christmas comes up. Sometimes I wish I could just say Nope, we don't celebrate it because we do tree and presents on Yule or Solstice. That would feel so odd though. I feel like I would then have to explain that while we give presents on Solstice, we don't really see it as a holiday. That's not a lot different than trying to explain that Christmas has no religious meaning for us either. Although the kids would probably like to do Solstice. It's on December 22nd this year. That would mean opening presents 3 days earlier! I wish I was creative enough to come up with a whole new term! Then again, that would only confuse people and they would just say we may not admit it, but we are celebrating their holiday and therefore worshiping Jesus in their way. The honest truth is that we celebrate this holiday because it is just plain FUN to have a tree with blinking lights, Star Trek ornaments and Spree candy canes! And then there are the lots and lots of wrapped presents for all of us that have nothing to do with birthdays. The more presents I can put under the tree, the happier I am each year. Although, DH usually tries to reign in my purchases. :D oooh, oooh.. what if I call it Consumer Celebration Day! That would justify my love for buying tons of stuff. I'll run that one by the family. hee hee... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twoforjoy Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 There are culturally Jewish folks who celebrate Hannukah even though they don't actively practice their religion any longer. That's because it is part of *their* culture (and it isn't part of mine, having been raised in a Christian household). This. I've had a number of secular Jewish friends who celebrate Jewish holidays. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LidiyaDawn Posted November 3, 2011 Author Share Posted November 3, 2011 Every single year, the question of why do non-believers celebrate Christmas comes up. See this is where I apparently had it backwards :tongue_smilie: - because I never really thought much about it…I grew up having Christmas, everyone that I knew (who were also mostly atheist/agnostic families) had Christmas… I never heard anyone questioning 'why' we all did.. it was just normal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LidiyaDawn Posted November 3, 2011 Author Share Posted November 3, 2011 But my Father is very atheist. (In a let's all read skeptical inquirer and when the subject comes up try to keep to myself the opinion that they are all in some brainwashed crazy cult.) …wondering if I have a long lost sister :laugh: [you just described my dad very well] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jplain Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 While I love and respect my atheists friends, my heart truly aches that they do not experience the same joy I feel . . . And that sentiment might be fully reciprocated by your friends, albeit with a different ending to the sentence. :001_rolleyes: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer3141 Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 And that sentiment might be fully reciprocated by your friends, albeit with a different ending to the sentence. :001_rolleyes: Uh, yeah. :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorCalMom Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 (edited) While I totally agree with this sentiment, I truly (no snark) have no idea what it has to do with celebrating Christmas as a religious holiday. A Christian should feel joy in loving and celebrating the gift of Jesus every day. Not just on Christmas, or even especially on Christmas. JMHO. I did mean this. It's a sadness I feel throughout the year (referencing my previous comment). Edited November 3, 2011 by cowgirl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorCalMom Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 Uh, yeah. :iagree: In no way was I intending to be snarky. Glad my friends don't react like this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denise in Florida Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 Dh and I are devout conservative Christians. The small degree to which we celebrate/participate in Christmas is exclusively and completely secular. We do not recognize the day as a religious holiday. In fact, we do not celebrate any holidays in a 'religious' way. Our children know that some (many?) people celebrate Christmas as the birthday of Jesus. They also know that some children believe Santa is real. That said, they also know dh and I do not agree with either of these things, as well as our reasons for believing what we do. Interestingly, if it were not for our extended, non-religous family's desire to celebrate Christmas with us, we would do nothing at all to recognize the day as different from any other. I love your response. I agree, to a degree. I am a devout Christian, I celebrate Christmas with both secular and Christian traditions. My poor family has heard my "Christmas is not Christ's birthday, don't sing Happy Birthday" rant too many times. :lol: I enjoy it as a time of family warmth and tradition much like Thanksgiving. It is a time to acknowledge a gift from God. It is not a required religious festival. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WishboneDawn Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 Genuinely curious about this phenomenon of non Christians celebrating Christian holidays..do non-Christians who celebrate Christmas also celebrate the Jewish holidays too..ya' know, in a secular way? Just wondering why this trend only seems to happen with Christian holidays. Is there just more respect for the holidays/sacred days of other religions? I wonder if my Jewish friends would be offended if I decided to celebrate Hanukkah this year, you know..just cuz'...don't worry...I'm going to cut out all of the religious-y stuff of the holiday and just put up lots of blue and white lights..maybe I'll keep the candles cuz' they're pretty and then we're going to start a new tradition of eating different kinds of fondue each night for eight nights. My guess is that it happens with Christian holidays because we're coming from an overwhelmingly Christian society where the Christian traditions are so prominent they're the ones most people, religious or not, grew up with. Christmas also has a secular element that most other religious holidays don't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sassyscrapperinid Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 That said, in my house growing up, the big dinner night was Christmas Eve. CHristmas Day was for unwrapping and laziness, often with leftovers or similar for dinner. We've made it about going out for Chinese and to the movies. It's the one time of the year we do sit-down Chinese (rather than take-away) and we get a Pu-Pu platter which the kids love (that little sterno flame is exciting!). LOVE THIS!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiguirre Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 You'd have to go out of your way to avoid the secular aspects of Christmas and I doubt many people would do that unless they are very adamant about not participating in the Christmas celebration. I'm way too laid back to either make up a Christmas alternative or forgo a good party. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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