3 ms·

An atheist at Christmas: Oh come all ye faithless

11 points by scribu 13y ago

qwerta 13y ago
Must atheists do not care. Christmas is not really christian exclusive holiday. There are more practical aspects. For example some companies force workers to take 'voluntary' holiday. But why? Weather in winter is bad, and some people are most productive when office is empty. I would rather save my holiday for summer.
a3n 13y ago
I guess I'm an atheist, but I don't care enough about it to make it part of my identity. "If the nativity to you is nothing more than a fairytale, how do you handle Christmas?" I enjoy it. I respect and enjoy my Christian and non-Christian friends and family. I enjoy the decorations and trees, I don't mind the religious decorations and messages at all. I go to parties and dinners, and sit quietly during any prayer. I exchange gifts, and I get a lot of joy over delighting my kid. I understand the backstory of Christmas gift-giving. I don't worry about it, it's a nice tradition to have, however it happens to fit into your life and beliefs. How lucky I am that I have Christian and other religious friends who think enough of me to include me in their prayers. I expect everyone to allow me to live in peace with my beliefs, and I do the same for others. This is quite apart from opposing coercion and indoctrination. Religious and atheists alike can oppose those things and still love and respect each other. As for the extremists on either side, I mostly ignore them. Merry Christmas.
fallinghawks 13y ago
Celebrate being a human, and celebrate having friends and family. Part of my family is born-again Christian, but they have the class not to shove it down anyone's throats. They say a few words of grace, and we tackle dinner. There's no reason for hatred and opposition of either side: we choose mutual respect instead of taking offense.
nextstep 13y ago
You don't have to be theist to enjoy the modern Christmas tradition of giving and receiving gifts and spending time with loved ones. Christmas is based of the nativity fairy tale, but it's also based of solstice celebrations found in any cultures. The modern Christmas celebration has more grounding in Coca-Cola ads then biblical stories. Atheists celebrating Christmas is no stranger than "Christians" celebrating this truly secular holiday.
- infruset 13y ago
  You remind me of Sheldon Cooper. :-) Oh, and also, I completely agree with you.
  - nextstep 13y ago
    Had to look up who Sheldon Cooper is... Thanks? :) Merry Christmas, Hacker News!
digisign 13y ago
I think the question is a false dichotomy. Winter solstice festivals predate (and have run in parallel to) to christianity. See saturnalia, yuletide, etc. It's fine for an atheist to enjoy decorated trees, family, and eggnog, without supporting the "bronze-age creation mythology" stuff of xmas and hanukka.
robobro 13y ago
Celebrating this Christmas the good 'ol Subgenius way. PRAISE "Bob"!!!!
shearnie 13y ago
I intellectually border on atheism, but also acknowledge we do not know everything. Additionally from my life's experiences and "heart" and "spiritual" yearnings I live theistically. The tensions of my belief rest in good company with the paradoxes of the Christian message. I am glad for the community and mystery this faith has enriched my life with. Oh I love Christmas. Merry Christmas.
chrismcb 13y ago
I don't understand the mentality of "I'm an atheist therefore I can't participate in Christmas. So much that I felt dirty eating a Christmas dinner and listening to 'Christmas' music" (As if "winter wonderland" and "jingle bells" are religous songs) I would think that an atheist would love the commercialization of Christmas, or the fact that most of the traditions are non-Christian. But even all that, even if you don't believe in God, doesn't mean you can't enjoy being with your fellow humans and enjoy a season of giving. It seems to me that is being a non American and refusing to watch fireworks on the Fourth of July... They are still fireworks, and they are still cool to watch. I can understand if you were a non Christian religious person that doesn't believe in Christmas. But as an atheist, why should you care. Enjoy the holiday as a day off work, with some cool lights and seasonal music.

11 points by scribu 13y ago

Must atheists do not care. Christmas is not really christian exclusive holiday. There are more practical aspects. For example some companies force workers to take 'voluntary' holiday. But why? Weather in winter is bad, and some people are most productive when office is empty. I would rather save my holiday for summer.

a3n 13y ago

I guess I'm an atheist, but I don't care enough about it to make it part of my identity. "If the nativity to you is nothing more than a fairytale, how do you handle Christmas?" I enjoy it. I respect and enjoy my Christian and non-Christian friends and family. I enjoy the decorations and trees, I don't mind the religious decorations and messages at all. I go to parties and dinners, and sit quietly during any prayer. I exchange gifts, and I get a lot of joy over delighting my kid. I understand the backstory of Christmas gift-giving. I don't worry about it, it's a nice tradition to have, however it happens to fit into your life and beliefs. How lucky I am that I have Christian and other religious friends who think enough of me to include me in their prayers. I expect everyone to allow me to live in peace with my beliefs, and I do the same for others. This is quite apart from opposing coercion and indoctrination. Religious and atheists alike can oppose those things and still love and respect each other. As for the extremists on either side, I mostly ignore them. Merry Christmas.

fallinghawks 13y ago

Celebrate being a human, and celebrate having friends and family. Part of my family is born-again Christian, but they have the class not to shove it down anyone's throats. They say a few words of grace, and we tackle dinner. There's no reason for hatred and opposition of either side: we choose mutual respect instead of taking offense.

nextstep 13y ago

You don't have to be theist to enjoy the modern Christmas tradition of giving and receiving gifts and spending time with loved ones. Christmas is based of the nativity fairy tale, but it's also based of solstice celebrations found in any cultures. The modern Christmas celebration has more grounding in Coca-Cola ads then biblical stories. Atheists celebrating Christmas is no stranger than "Christians" celebrating this truly secular holiday.

infruset 13y ago
You remind me of Sheldon Cooper. :-) Oh, and also, I completely agree with you.
- nextstep 13y ago
  Had to look up who Sheldon Cooper is... Thanks? :) Merry Christmas, Hacker News!

digisign 13y ago

I think the question is a false dichotomy. Winter solstice festivals predate (and have run in parallel to) to christianity. See saturnalia, yuletide, etc. It's fine for an atheist to enjoy decorated trees, family, and eggnog, without supporting the "bronze-age creation mythology" stuff of xmas and hanukka.

robobro 13y ago

Celebrating this Christmas the good 'ol Subgenius way. PRAISE "Bob"!!!!

shearnie 13y ago

I intellectually border on atheism, but also acknowledge we do not know everything. Additionally from my life's experiences and "heart" and "spiritual" yearnings I live theistically. The tensions of my belief rest in good company with the paradoxes of the Christian message. I am glad for the community and mystery this faith has enriched my life with. Oh I love Christmas. Merry Christmas.

chrismcb 13y ago

I don't understand the mentality of "I'm an atheist therefore I can't participate in Christmas. So much that I felt dirty eating a Christmas dinner and listening to 'Christmas' music" (As if "winter wonderland" and "jingle bells" are religous songs) I would think that an atheist would love the commercialization of Christmas, or the fact that most of the traditions are non-Christian. But even all that, even if you don't believe in God, doesn't mean you can't enjoy being with your fellow humans and enjoy a season of giving. It seems to me that is being a non American and refusing to watch fireworks on the Fourth of July... They are still fireworks, and they are still cool to watch. I can understand if you were a non Christian religious person that doesn't believe in Christmas. But as an atheist, why should you care. Enjoy the holiday as a day off work, with some cool lights and seasonal music.