A question I've been pondering recently...Do atheists celebrate Christmas? If so, what's the rationale or reasoning behind doing so?

 

It's a very religious holiday, so one would assume those who don't believe in any sort of religion or higher being wouldn't waste their time with such nonsense.

Maybe Santa is their gig? Not religious but celebrating the sprit of gifting?

The atheists down the street when I was a kid celebrated Thomas Edison's birthday on December 25th.

It's a very religious holiday, so one would assume those who don't believe in any sort of religion or higher being wouldn't waste their time with such nonsense.

 

Our church doesn't teach that Christmas was the exact date of Jesus birth, just as we don't teach Easter to be the official resurrection. We discuss his birth, death, resurrection on almost every occasion rather than pinning it to a specific date.

 

I say all of that to state it doesn't have to be religious. We celebrate the holiday with trees, presents, music, etc. but typically leave the religion out of it.

The secular season that has come to surround the Christmas season has grown to a level that you can celebrate the Solstice or Saturnalia or the Winter Festival all you like without most of the Christian traditions.

The secular season that has come to surround the Christmas season has grown to a level that you can celebrate the Solstice or Saturnalia or the Winter Festival all you like without most of the Christian traditions.

 

A much more elegant way of stating my feelings on it. Let's be honest, Christian or not, Christmas for most is about:

 

- Buying gitfs

- Retail sales

- Uncomfortable family moments

- People laughing when they hear Feliz Navidad

- Booze in the eggnog

 

Any Atheist can get behind that.

Simple. Everybody loves to get free stuff.

My Atheist nephew went out and cut a Christmas tree this weekend. I so wanted to say something because he is always posting on social media about his beliefs as an atheist.

I would say that almost all Americans think about Jesus at Christmas time. They think about the other Christmas stuff more (as do I at times) but Jesus still pops in their head during the Holiday.

Interesting question and no matter how you spin it as secular, the underlying reason for Christmas is still religious. It would seem that atheists would not want any part of it.

I truly believe a lot of proclaimed atheists are more agnostic in their beliefs. How they act around Christmas time is proof of that to me.