I'm an atheist and I celebrate all kinds of holidays. Because campy traditions are silly and fun.

I've never met a pro-lifer that didn't celebrate their day of birth instead of their day of conception.

I've never met a loud and outspoken Christian that was really Christian.

Most Atheists use it as a gift-giving holiday.

I've met very few people, Christians included, who actually celebrated it as the birth of Christ. They just do gift exchanges, too.

I have celebrated Hanukkah with a Jewish family once. That was very interesting. My father dated a Jewish woman for about a year or so. Very religious. Never tried to convert us. They had some interesting ways about them. I was like 10 or 11, I don't remember much. I remember potato pancakes, I remember they got lame presents every night for seven days (or nine? Whatever it is). It's not like multiple Christmases. Whole different holiday.

We mainly use it to exchange gifts.

And I've met very few Christians, if any, who actually follow all the rules in the bible

Hi. I'm an atheist that doesn't celebrate Christmas. You are probably from a part of the world where there is a Christian majority. Honestly I'm assuming American lol

Did the celebrate the birth of christ, or were they celebrating a day off work to be with their family and exchange gifts as a way of strengthening familial and social bonds?

I celebrate Christmas in the sense that I get together with family for a good meal and exchange some gifts, but none of us spare a thought to baby jeebuz or any of that jazz.

Also, I'm Norwegian and I seem to recall that jule celebrations were a thing before christianity forced Thor & Co. to step aside.

Hello.

Also meet more people of various backgrounds.

Christmas predates Christianity in my culture. We just didn't call it Christmas.

Its part of my culture but not part of my belive.

Define celebrate. Do they go to church? Do anything religious on those days?

Do you mean Saturnalia?

You've never met the vast majority of humans, obvious sample size/bias issue

Atheists here who's favorite holiday is Christmas.

I do kinda wish it had a different name, and kinda wish it was on the winter solstice; but as long as no one wants to go to church, read the Bible, or reinact the nativity; it's a fantastic areligious holiday to enjoy with loved ones.

Most Christians I know only pretend it's a religious holiday while they enjoy family, food, and gifts. Though some actually go to church, and I kinda feel bad for them.

Celebrating cultural traditions doesn't necessarily have to involve religious themes.

Xmas was commandeered by christians but we have been celebrating Winter solstice for a lot longer than there has been christians on this planet. (same goes for most other 'christian' holidays)

I don't celebrate the birth of any fictional character, but I still celebrate the holidays in general, they mean different things to different people and there's nothing wrong with that. It should be about spending time with your loved ones and showing your appreciation. It should be to find a little bit of peace and relaxation this world with those you love, and taking a break before starting out on a new year with new problems and challenges.

Get back in the shower and keep thinking, surely you have the imagination to understand why atheists (and other non Christian groups) celebrate Christmas. This is not a deep thought and kinda makes you sound like a dumb cunt tbh.

“Celebrate” is doing a lot of work here. What are we supposed to do? Go to work?

Well yeah why not. The holiday was a pagan holiday long before the Jesus thing anyway. Besides the idea of gathering with your family to share meals and exchanging gifts because you love and care for them is not strictly a Christian thing.

Most Christan holidays are co-opted pagan celebrations. Easter is the celebration of spring hence the chicks and bunnies and eggs, all symbols of new life. Christmas and the tradition of bringing evergreens into the home are the winter solstice celebration. Christians can't steal peoples holidays and then complain that non-christians celebrate them.

Celebrating these holidays without being Christan is actually standing up against thousands of years of forced conversion tactics.

I'm no expert, but I think Santa Claus isn't exactly a biblical figure and neither is the Easter Bunny. These are normal holidays around here, but you'd be hard-pressed to find many children who know any of the christian stuff.

Also, I think Christmas was actually built on top of the prior winter solstice celebrations. It's not like anyone knew the exact date of birth for a random guy from hundreds of years ago.

I don't care what holiday is it, as long as you make it an official holiday that has legally mandated paid time off... 😏

I'll be your new person to meet for today.

I'm spiritual but still atheist and my family has been agnostic atheist for 3 generations. Back in the 80's my grandfather started celebrating the winter solstice because he wasn't happy celebrating holidays for a religion he didn't agree with. He picked it because it's the longest night in the year and that's a good reason to give a gift.

40 something years later, I'm raising my kid to celebrate the solstices and the equinoxes. Winter is a quite calibration of your closest people and you exchange gifts that will help them through the next year. During summer it's a celebration of the people you know and everyone gets together and brings everyone they know to eat and party with the goal of meeting some one new. Both equinox are a celebration of the community and we go out to do community service.

That's 4 generations of non Cristian celebration.

We call them Christmas and Easter, but they're really just secular holidays for the family to get together. No religious aspect whatsoever, but great getting together.

Pretty sure Jesus’s birthday isn’t the first and only mid-winter celebration in the entire history of humankind. Most people are just happy to get the solstice out of the way.

What are your views on atheists eating Easter eggs?

On the flip side I’ve never met a loud and outspoken Christian that didn’t celebrate Christmas.

You know, since it’s a stolen Holliday used as a yearly excuse for a capitalism orgy.

Christmas is a pagan holiday co-opted by Christians. Christmas is most definitely a secular tradition in the US and there is nothing unusual about an atheist celebrating it.

What is unusual is Christians trying to bring Christ into the celebration when the timing just doesn't make any sense. Was he actually born during this time? Where does he fit in with Santa Claus? Why do we bring a tree indoors? What about Jesus equals buying gifts to give to loved ones?

Clearly Jesus doesn't belong in Christmas no matter how hard Christians try to pretend he does.

Eh, whatever religious significance it ever had in the West is long gone, but it's still a nice occasion to meet up with family, break bread and share gifts. I'm not much for rites and celebrations, to a point my wife hates, but I see the value of it (and in sharing with your loved ones, ofc) even if it's completely separate from religion.

Happy Saturnalia.

Saturnalia Gang rise up! Our time is now!

Now you have.

Christmas can - and I simply can't over-stress this - fuck right off.

Pro tip: talk to child-free people estranged from their parents and/or siblings. High chance they want nothing to do with any of it, likely because it dredges up unpleasant memories (which frankly stand a good chance of also being the source of their eschewing of religion).

Rather than having to buy gifts other people don't want, and pretend to be happy about receiving the same, I just buy the things I want when I want them, and encourage those around me to do the same.

I will add that it's not helped by living in the southern hemisphere, where a bunch of misguided people insist on emulating northern hemisphere traditions, making everyone around them miserable by serving a three-course roast dinner in the height of summer.

Christmas is now a secular holiday. It was here before Christians anyway.

I have, including myself.

It's still a public holiday where I live, so it's a convenient date for visiting family for a few days. But apart from some joke decoration (like a single bauble on a tiny potted citrus tree) there is nothing Christmassy about it.

Did they haul out a nativity scene? Go to church? No? Then it was a cultural celebration, not a religious one. Nothing hypocritical about that.

Might be a good time to remember that Christmas has adopted many pagan traditions.

Or Hannukah or Eid Al Fitr. Atheists are greedy lazy bastards hoarding presents and food which rightfully belongs to the theists!

I don't most years, unless a friend really wants to do something with me for it in which case I might go along for their benefit. Not really a holiday person in general though.

eyup. they are all over that christian stuff with the yule log and mistletoe and decroting a tree and being visited by a magical elf lord and having all the holi on the day of christs birth that we all know vaguely coincides with the winter solcstice. so wierd that even though they don't believe in god they celebrate not just one god but many. Just like the deeply christian japanese are so into it.

What do you mean with celebrate? I mean, i get free from work but hardly celebrate anything (although maybe slightly at the winter solstice, when the shortest day had happened, happy that the days will get longer again)

Just about every culture has a winter celebration. Religious or not, a large portion of the population is struggling in the cold. The party around the solstice gives a distinct turning point in the year as the days get longer. So why not take advantage of the existing merch, the existing day off work, and the spirit of your friends and family and partake? Going with the flow and pretending to celebrate a holiday in a religion you think is fake anyway is easier than having the same conversation over and over with family. And don't underestimate the power of marketing, consumerism, and the lingering imperialism. I've been to India and many people expressed their wish to visit New York City at Christmas. It permeates local culture, it broadcasts globally.

As others have said, you're showing a small world view and admitting your sample is small. Christianity creates atheists that celebrate Christmas. Judaism, hannukah. Modern non-religious cultural holidays, the new year. Traditional religions, some combo of the solstice and moon phase. Even those of other faiths that live in areas dominated by Christianity celebrate Christmas, heathens and pagans alike.

I don't celebrate christmas. There, now you have.

Hello. Am atheist and don't celebrate Christmas. It's just another day to me.

Im an atheist that doesn't celebrate. I don't do holidays and haven't with my kids since their birth. Everyone is over consuming.

Nor do I want to contribute to the ignorance of religion.

Idc if everyone wants to pretend its not a religious holiday, the Christians around here foam at the mouth at the chance to spout their nonsense. Christmas lights didnt go down until recently.

Religion has caused so much harm.

I'm not loud and outspoken, but I don't really celebrate. Though in my case I grew up JW so I never had the habit. I've heard arguments from outspoken atheists that religion doesn't get to claim holidays, because you don't have ro believe in something to enjoy the festive aspects, plus those holidays were stolen or merged from various religions anyway.

I've never met an Asatru who wasn't a Norwegian guy named Bjørn with extremely long naturally blonde hair who loves Iron Maiden.

Sample bias is a thing 😉

Well it is the most wonderful time of the year.

Typical war on Saturnalia bullshit.

I don't really celebrate it. Not because I am an atheist, tho. Because I am poor. 😩

It's very very hard to just sit out a major holiday like that. It's a time to see family, hang out with friends.

You go to work on Monday? Then clearly you worship Luna. Right? See how stupid this comparison is.

I've never met a protestant that wasn't into a catholic saint's day at least once a year (valentine's day)

Sounds like you haven't met very many of them.

How can you be sure?

When you meet someone you judge to be loud and outspoken in their atheism, do you add them to a list, find out where they live, and then spend your Christmas checking what ever one of them is doing on that day?

Hello. Allow me to introduce myself. 👋

Beyond its religious context, it is one of the most widely-celebrated and practiced social gathering events, and a massive economic driver in many local economies. It would be strange to not celebrate it for the social aspect, even if you don't practice the religious aspect.

funny, you say you are upset with society and yet you live in one

You think Xmas is a religious holiday? LOL.

Most atheists keep the holidays they grew up with. Atheists who were raised Jewish celebrate hannakah.

I just consider it Yule internally but I'm not gonna bother correcting anyone wishing a happy whatever day it is.

Call it Yule and have fun.

In Scandinavia we celebrate "jul" (Scandinavian word for Christmas). "Jul" sounds a lot like Yule https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yule :)

I do similar shit on the solstice these days out of respect, but if the Christians get any worse I'll start doing my part to dilute the holiday's religious significance even further out of spite.

If it were up to me I wouldn't.

I can imagine there being a correlation, because there's no reason to be outspoken, if you're not embedded in a context that would push religion onto you, which includes celebrating Christmas.

I had a friend in university, whose parents immigrated from a secular region of East Asia, who was equally as atheist as I was. But while I arrived at that position after years of learning about Christianity, as well as peer pressure and self-reflection, she didn't go through any of that.
She couldn't have an opinion about Christianity to be outspoken about, because Christianity is just a random fandom as far as she's concerned. She's not particularly interested in it, and that's all there is to it for her.

And then, yeah, while I'm obviously much more outspoken than her, I'm not outspoken against doing a celebration in winter. Because I'm embedded in this Christian context, my parents want me to visit for Christmas, so I guess, I celebrate Christmas. ¯\_(⊙_ʖ⊙)_/¯

I think people in general need some sort of mid-winter holiday. Especially near the winter solstice, people need a distraction and something to feel excited about.

Moreover, I think that’s all Christmas really is. Any religious connection it has is just a tenuous excuse to have a holiday; it’s widely accepted that Jesus would have been born in the spring, but if you give people an excuse to have a holiday they won’t nitpick it… they just want any excuse.

I think that’s also why there are so many holidays during the winter. People want to distract themselves from the weather and reduced sunlight.

My family doesn't celebrate christmas, we don't even put up a christmas tree. But we Use the holiday to watch movies and cook something tasty to eat. We don't really identify as atheists; personally i just don't like religions and my mom and sisters got soured up on religion while living in a very conservative/Christian community. We don't really celebrate Easter either. Catholics in out community don't consume meat these days and it's cool to get very low cost meat on this holiday.

No but we celebrate December To Remember in this house 🌲

It's me, didn't grow up with Christmas so it's just another day.

Merry Festivus

I celebrate yule which is no less theist but definitely not christmass

Nice to meet you. I told all my family to stop buying me presents and that I would stop buying them presents and that I'm not celebrating a holiday I don't believe in. The holidays are a lot less stressful.

Nobody gonna turn down a day off

Well, I'm married to one (and I only "celebrate" in the sense that it's a gotta-visit-your-parents-once-a-year-anyway-at least-it-doesn't-cost-vacation-days opportunity, no presents or anything). Their parents tried "if you don't go to church then there'll be no presents either" and, well, not a good tactic when dealing with a stubborn aspie ;-)

Christmas is fun, when you have people to celebrate with.

In my (very personal) experience, people who boast about how rational and science-oriented they are tend to do some pretty irrational things, such as believing in amulets and marrying.

Absolutely! Atheist here who absolutely loves secular Christmas - all the Santa++ and nostalgia-core stuff makes it a blast if you ignore the words in the songs, and the assholes bitching about there not being enough Jeeee-zus (io, saturnalia, bitches) But if you’re in the south make sure to fuck with everybody and wish them a happy Hanukkah the whole time, since none of them know when it is, and they can’t fathom anybody responding with anything but merry Xmas. We can all have a fun holiday season from Mid-October through the first week of January if we try. Saturnalia, Samhain, Kwanzaa… have fun!

I wish I didn't have to but religious family won't take no for an answer. 😡

i only celebrate xmas for my child. i think its an egregious capitalist moneygrab that abuses the force of nostalgia and social order to siphon as much money out of people as possible. i feel that way about most holidays tho.

Fuck yeah! Presents baby!

I'm an atheist and couldn't care less about Christmas. If I didn't have to celebrate it, I would. The problem is kids like presents and it's an excuse for dinner with the extended family.

I don't celebrate christmas

I actively dislike it

Strictly though, I doubt we have met

Hello, hi. I never celebrated christmas

Yeah because my parents are Christian, and makes it a national holiday because the only way the capitalists can ever be convinced to give you a day off is by fucking decree. I absolutely hate Christmas, and really I don't like holidays in general since it interrupts my routine. I would never celebrate Christmas if I had a real choice.

Sounds like you haven't met many Jews