Is it hypocritical for an athiest to celebrate Christmas?

[Darth_Ole]

I'm athiest (and in high school) and one day one of my Christian friends and I were arguing about religion as usual and he asked me, "So since you're athiest does that mean you don't celebrate Christmas?" I kind of hemmed and hawed and gave him a very convenient non-answer.

But I've wondered is it hypocritical for an athiest to even do the whole Christmas tree and gift giving thing. I mean, a Muslim wouldn't. A Hindu or Jew wouldn't.. So why should an athiest?

What do you all think?

[JailForBush]

1. Not at all.

After all, Christmas really has very little to do with religion.

[blondeatlast]

36. Precisely (from a Christian who actually STUDIES the Bible).

Enjoy the season, to all my brethren!

[Cheswick2.0]

43. maybe your Christmas has very little to do with religion

Mine has everything to do with religion.

[Archae]

2. Heck no!

I'm an atheist, and I love Christmas!

(Well, except for the totally crass commercialism that starts earlier and earlier each year.)

[Hillsey]

3. No

[Cush]

4. nope

just like the first reply, it has little to do with religion.

We don't believe in organized religion, but we celebrate, we just keep the religion out.

[Devlzown]

5. You can do as you please.

I'm not really any particular religion at all and I celebrate Christmas with my family and friends. For me, it's all about being with the people I care about. What can be wrong with that?

[ibegurpard]

7. Exactly.

Spending the time with family is the best thing about it for me.

[AlFrankenFan]

6. I wouldn't think so, cause...

...I'm a Jew and I still celebrate it, because my step-father's Catholic.

[ClassWarrior]

8. Maybe you're not really an atheist?...

By the way, I'm a Christian and I agree with the poster above who hates the creeping commercialism.

[Archae]

10. Creeping?

More like slam you in the 'nads commercialism! :argh:

[IndianaGreen]

9. Christmas is Marxist. The Santa Claus part anyway.

Christmas is Marxist. A man that looks like Karl Marx, wearing RED, that brings toys to all the children, and does not do it for profit! What a better example of "to each according to their need!"

[ibegurpard]

15. ROFL!

:thumbsup:

[JohnKleeb]

17. IG neat theory

[Crunchy Frog]

24. Did you ever hear that Arlo Guthrie

song about Santa Clause:

Santa Clause has a red suit
he's a communist.
And a beard and long hair
must be a pacifist.
What's in that pipe that he's smoking?
etc.

[blondeatlast]

49. Then Christmas HAS to be secular, right?

Love it . . .

[Khephra]

64. Actually, Santa's appearance has quite a bit to do

with the stereotypical image of the Robber Barons. His modern image came about that time. He's the anti-Robber Baron. Santa's image wasn't quite fixed until that time.

(At least according to the WONDERFUL history of Christmas programs that have been on The History Channel this week.)

[jono]

11. I think not.

Christmas was pretty much co-opted from other non-Christian traditions anyhow.


There were mid-winter festivals in ancient Babylon and Egypt, and Germanic fertility festivals also took place at this time. The birth of the ancient sun-god Attis in Phrygia was celebrated on December 25th, as was the birth of the Persian sun-god, Mithras. The Romans celebrated Saturnalia, a festival dedicated to Saturn, the god of peace and plenty, that ran from the 17th to 24th of December. Public gathering places were decorated with flowers, gifts and candles were exchanged and the population, slaves and masters alike, celebrated the occasion with great enthusiasm.

In Scandinavia, a period of festivities known as Yule contributed another impetus to celebration, as opposed to spirituality. As Winter ended the growing season, the opportunity of enjoying the Summer's bounty encouraged much feasting and merriment.

The Celtic culture of the British Isles revered all green plants, but particularly mistletoe and holly. These were important symbols of fertility and were used for decorating their homes and altars.


http://www.christmas-time.com/cp-hist.html

[Cheswick2.0]

46. you misunderstand

certain traditions were cultural and were carried into the celebration by people as the converted to Christianity. But if you think what most people are celebrating/worshiping are trees, the date or gifts you are missing the point.

[LanternWaste]

63. I think "co-opted" colors the argument a bit too much...

I wouldn't say it was 'co-opted' as much as I would say that acculturation simply did what had been doing (and continues to do) since the dawn of man's culture.

Going back further, you would find that each of the civilization's you mentioned as example had themselves transferred bit's and pieces of earlier festivals and celebrations from cultures which pre-dated them and I certainly don't believe their celebrations were diminished or minimized by this at all. In fact, I think one could easily argue that it allowed a greater amount of tradition and meaning for each of the participants in addition to a greater amount of celebratory participants coming together and having a rousing good time regardless of their individual faith's or beliefs.



Edited for clarity

[Cleita]

12. Absolutely not!!

The tree, the log, the decorations, the presents, the baked goodies all come from a pre-christian era. Enjoy!

[BigMcLargehuge]

13. from one atheist to another

We have a christmas tree. We have presents. We celebrate with family. What we don't do is spend any time at all focusing on Jesus. Rather we discuss the coming new year and lengthening of the days as we approach spring.

It's not hypocritical since the holiday itself was moved to coincide with Sol Invicta, a powerful Roman religion.

[Snow]

14. And furthermore, guess when 'shepherds watch their flocks by night"

in the middle east - (hint: it is not the middle of winter). Drop that on your christian friends.

[blondeatlast]

38. I love to drop this on my overly literal friends! Desert nights

can be chilly, but there ain't no snow in Bethlehem in December!

[Cheswick2.0]

48. does that matter?

do you think Christians are worshipping a date or time of year?

[Snow]

62. Yes, it does, and you're being disingenuous.....

and you're assuming, I think, that I'm not christian (pretty good call, actually, but I'm Quaker, and have studied the holy books and how they were assembled). But I'm sure you know that Christmas landed on that date with the hope of displacing older non-christian holidays. It's one of the lesser appealing aspects of christianity; namely its history of intolerance and disrespect. Christianity is not alone in this, of course, but my Quaker Meeting, for example, includes, if I'm counting right, 6 practicing jews. One of whom wrote a very interesting book which she called something like "how I became a better jew by going to quaker meeting".

[wingnut]

16. No

I'm agnostic and I participate in my family's xmas celebrations. I don't have to believe in god to spend some quality time with them. I just don't go to mass with them.

[Philostopher]

18. Two agnostics here.

We honor the holiday because it's tradition in our families. It would seem, to me anyway, to be a bit overdramatic to buck family tradition by saying, 'no, we don't believe in your God or belong to a Christian religion, so we don't celebrate Christmas.' What would be gained by it, other than to make our families feel bad?

In other words, though the holiday has no religious meaning for us, as we have no religion, it doesn't hurt us to go through the motions every year. It would hurt our families if we elected to dig in our heels about it, and it's just not worth it. We do it because it's socially expedient and promotes good bonding within our families, however much or little the holiday actually means to us.

It makes our aging, widowed mothers happy -- which is really the best reason to honor a holiday that has no religious meaning for us.

[Skittles]

28. nownow, I absolutely agree

and it certianly makes life easier, huh? :D

[blondeatlast]

39. Amen to that. (sorry--couldn't resist)

It's a little thing many people have forgotten--politeness. One should always respect others' beliefs, even if they conflict with yours. I love and repect my atheist, agnostic, Wiccan (I attend UU service), etc. friends just as much as my Christian brethren.

It's simply the ethical and polite thing to do--forget morality.

[carpetbagger]

19. What's so Christian about Christmas?

Neither the tree, nor the giving of gifts, are Christian things. At one point, up until about 1800-1850 or so, the gift-giving was somewhat more Christian, e.g., in some cultures poor folk would go door to door and get gifts, but I don't see anything particularly rooted in the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. Certainly it does not require belief in God to celebrate the lengthening of the days, and John 1 makes for beautiful reading whether or not you believe in the theology behind it.

Followers of many religions face strong pressure not to celebrate the holidays of other religions. And for you, presumably rooted in western culture, Christmas is your celebration. Like I said, much of it has more to do with the celebration of the long night, the rest between harvest and planting, the snow, and the evergreen anyway.

[TankLV]

20. A party is a party, as far as I'm concerned.

I almost never turn down a party - only if I'm genuinely busy or have a cold.

Why waste energy on feeling such guilt? (you'd have the 1st requirement for being either a catholic or jew, BTW!)

Chill. Go with the flow. Enjoy moments as they come.

There's too much crap out there to deal with as we all know all to well here on DU!

"Today we party, for tomorrow we may die" kinda fits real good right now, doesn't it?

[ldoolin]

21. Not at all

It's no more hypocritical than it is for Christians to celebrate Easter, which is named after the pagan goddess Eostar...

Or for atheists to celebrate Halloween, aka All Hallows Eve, a Catholic holiday...

Point being, every holiday has a mix of many traditions that came from many different cultures and religions. Enjoy them all without guilt, I say.

[Cheswick2.0]

50. Nope. sorry

Easter is about the resurection for me. For you it may be something different, that is your business.

[ldoolin]

58. No argument here

I'm just pointing out where the word "Easter" came from.

[lazarus]

22. do what I do

And don't call it Christmas.

Call it what it's become:

Clausmas.

[Crunchy Frog]

23. I'm not religious at all

but I still love Christmas. I just like the atmosphere and the symbolism and the message of peace. I also love Christmas music. I don't think I'm a hypocrite at all, and if I am I don't care. If you find it enjoyable then don't worry about it and just enjoy it. If you don't like it and it doesn't feel right to you then don't celebrate it.

[beyurslf]

25. Not at all.

I am an atheist and always celebrate Christmas. I don't read the Bible story or tell any one to remember the reason for the season. It is a secular holiday with meaning beyond religion. And I have both Jewish and Muslim friends who also celebrate Christmas.

[scottcsmith]

26. Not really

Since there's a secular version of the Christmas holiday (Santa Claus) and the religious version (birth of Christ) why not?

I'm pretty sure the Christmas tree tradition has pagan roots, not Christian.

[eileen from OH]

27. Jesus Christ, no!

Just because you are going to burn in eternal hellfire doesn't mean you can't enjoy a nice day of celebrating with drunken relatives.

eileen from OH

[FDRrocks]

30. Well good wishes to you, too!

Geez! :scared:

[eileen from OH]

31. Um, the "Jesus Christ" in the subject line

didn't give you a clue that I was puttin' it on?

Satire, toots, satire.

eileen from OH

[FDRrocks]

32. I half suspected...

but either way I wished you well. :)

[FDRrocks]

29. I celebrate Xmas...

I don't want to alienate my family. I view Xmas as a cultural thing, anymore. I think it has been a cultural thing for a while.

[eileen from OH]

33. Yes, but who/what is this "x" person?

Was God's Son really named "X"? I mean, beyond being totally lacking any kind of creativity, it seems that being named "X" is like an invitation to having the shit beat out of you at recess.

eileen from OH

[FDRrocks]

34. Well

I don't believe Christ existed. Or moreso, I'm not sure he didn't exist, b/c he might've, but I doubt he was the son of God.

So I refer to it and sign my cards with X-mas. I don't believe in the Christ, but I don't disagree with the holiday. I figure refering to it as Christmas would bother some people I know (my girlfriend has a half a family who is very fundamentalist), and it kind of bothers me.

Just a personal choice. Great shorthand, too! :)

[blondeatlast]

40. "X" is Christ in Aramaic. Perfectly acceptable to use; not disrespecful,,

regardless of what IGNORANT Christians may tell you.

And a merry Xmas to all, Xians and non-Xians alike!

[Liberal Christian]

71. Keeping the X in Xmas

X in this case is the Greek letter "chi" which is the first letter of "christos." It is frequently used as shorthand for "Christ." It does not, as some have thought, indicate a lack of respect or take away the meaning of the season.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

79. Re: "Was God's Son really named 'X'?"

Well, he DID seem to have mutant powers.

[blondeatlast]

35. Nah. (This from a strong Christian)

First of all, my husband is a Hindu--he really is; and we celebrate Duvali (not a religious holiday, per se, but follow me here) and Christmas.

If you look into the history, the North American celebration is a mishmosh of hundreds of different traditions. In the early 1800s, Protestants NEVER celebrated Christmas--violating the work and modesty ethic, etc. (I'm a Presbyterian with deep Catholic roots, fwiw). This pissed the followers off, so they started attending Catholic Masses. Eventually the Protestants started observing Christmas.

Oddly, Christmas doesn't much as a religious holiday to me; I'm well aware that its roots are not 100% Christian, that a good deal of the roots come from Paganism, in fact. There is no historical evidence to point to December 25th being Christ's birthday, either. While I am a deep believer and practitioner of Christianity, to me our celebration of Christmas is really about one time of the year where we can be nice to each other "just because," emphasize being together with loved ones, and appreciate the our good fortune.

Anyone who defines Christmas in strict Christian terms needs a slight update on their Bible and Christian history, and slight would be more than sufficient.

IMHO, if we are to made ashamed of the way we celebrate ANY holiday, it should be Veteran's and Memorial days.

This Christian wishes you and yours a very merry holiday season, regardless of your chosen spirit (or lack thereof) and celebration!

[Killarney]

37. Not at all. I'm doing it right now. :)

To me Christmas is about family, fun, giving, and Santa. No Jesus involved.

You can celebrate anything you want. :)

[WillParkinson]

41. I'm an atheist and I don't celebrate christmas...

I celebrate the Solstice with friends and family. They may call it christmas but that's their choice to make. I received this from American Atheists the other day. I don't know if it will help but I thought I would pass it along:

WINTER SOLSTICE GREETINGS FROM AMERICAN ATHEISTS

The Winter Solstice occurs on Monday, December 22, 2003 at 2:04 AM
EST.

That moment marks the lowest point seen from the Northern Hemisphere
as our Sun makes its annual apparent journey across the sky. This
event is also one of the two times in the course of the year when the
Sun is at its greatest distance from the celestial equator, a giant
circle on the celestial sphere on the same plane as the earth's
equator.

Solstices take place because of the tilt of the earth's axis, about
23.5 degrees toward the plane of its rotation. During the winter, the
Northern Hemisphere receives less direct sunlight. Our neighbors in
the Southern Hemisphere, however, revel in the summer season.
Seasonal reversals occur as the earth travels in its elliptical orbit
around our star.

To ancients, this time of year was of profound significance. Solstice
was a pivotal event in the oscillational rhythms of the year.
Religious and mythic belief systems arose and incorporated this
sensibility about the natural ebb-and-flow of seasons. Even the rise
of Christianity could not obliterate these traditions; many live on
today in the contemporary celebration known as "Christmas."

The Christian religion celebrates the birth of the alleged god-man
messiah known as Jesus Christ on or about this time of year.
Scholars, however, and even many ecclesiastical leaders know that if
this Christ existed (his divinity very much a matter of debate, of
course) he likely was not born under the conditions described in the
New Testament. Still, the Christian Church exploits this time of year
for grand theater, pomp and spectacle.

Many choose to not observe this Christmas ritual. There is a growing
segment of the culture, however, that views the Winter Solstice as an
appropriate time for contemplation and celebration, whatever the
reason. Many Atheists and nonbelievers embrace this time in the
annual cycle of days as an appropriate "natural holiday," an event
rooted in the physical universe and not the supernatural dogmas of
religion. And, of course, not every Atheist, Freethinker, Humanist or
other nonbeliever agrees with this.

It still seems an appropriate opportunity, however, to wish the best
to our fellow humans for the coming year. Time is woven into the very
fabric of the universe; and the Winter Solstice is a key marker in our
awareness of the days, weeks and months that constitute the year.
What better time, then, to wish you the best for the next 365-plus
days!

-- From the Staff, Officers and Directors of American Atheists
HAPPY WINTER SOLSTICE!

[Blue Gardener]

44. I Agree, Winter Solstice it is

It really started out that way before the Christians decided to take it over anyway. I much prefer a Winter Sostice Holiday.

[blondeatlast]

47. As you wish; just please don't be disrespectful, and do read #35,

wherein this Christian disavows Christmas as the celebration of Christ's birth and strongly acknowledges the Pagan roots of the holiday.

[Blue Gardener]

51. I don't think I am being disrespectful

I am celebrating the day with the Christian members of the family, mostly Baptist and Catholic, I just don't participate in their prayers. I am also very respectful of my nephews beliefs, who is a Druid. We seem to all get along well as long as we don't get into deep discussions about religion or politics.

[blondeatlast]

76. Didn't mean to imply that you were, sorry.

Even Will wasn't, but I thought the tract he quoted from was overly smug with the "pomp" reference.

Anyway, hope it was a good one for you! Me, I won't be eating for a few days now . . .

Whew.

[Cheswick2.0]

52. Christians didn't "decide to take" anything

people converted to Christianity and brought their other traditions with them.

[Blue Gardener]

54. So December 25 is really the day Christ was Born?

Or is it just coincidence it happens to be so near the Winter Solstice? Can't we celebrate both holidays at the same time? Would you find that offensive? I don't think it's offensive at all.

[Cheswick2.0]

67. I don't think you have responded to anything I actually posted

want to read my post for meaning and try again?
Did I say anything about being offended? But try and grasp this idea; whan I celebrate Christmas it is not the date or the tree or any seasonal traditions that I am celebrating. It could be july first for all I care and the secular symbols could be a beach ball and roasting marshmellows.

[Blue Gardener]

77. My point is

The winter solstice was originally a pagan celebration, and was co-opted by the Christian church as the birthdate of Christ. Don't mean to offend anyone.

[blondeatlast]

45. I don't begrudge you your celebration, but about the info:

Isn't it a bit wierd for those who profess no spiritual belief to celebrate a purely scientific phenomenon?

If the info hadn't been so smug, I would easily let it go, but this little quote is just mean-spirited and fully meant to be disrespectful:

Still, the Christian Church exploits this time of year
for grand theater, pomp and spectacle.

So do the Muslims, Asian Indians (Duvali puts our Christmas celebrations to shame, my husband is an Asian Indian), Jews, Pagans, and Wiccans. Besides, what's wrong with a little Grand Opera?

Sending a prayer that you will have a wonderful celebration of the wonders of gravity and physics! If that bothers you, I truly am sorry; it's offered with the best intentions.

:hi:

Edit 2: Damn HTML tags!
Ahem.

[Cheswick2.0]

53. how very sad

How very sad that many atheists can't talk about what they believe without insulting other people. Why must you always define yourselves as compared to Christianity? Why not just leave Christians out of it altogether?
I can't imagine having to describe who I am or what I believe by saying "well, I am not a jew and here is what is wrong with the jews. I am not a Hindu and here is what is wrong with them. I am not an atheist and here is what is wrong with them...."
:shrug:

[Blue Gardener]

55. Who said I was an Atheist?

Don't recall me saying that. Maybe I'm Pagan, Wiccan, Agnostic? Don't presume you know what I believe.

[Cheswick2.0]

42. no it's okay

It is really a cultural holiday for many people and we believer types don't mind sharing it. We might find it kind of ungracious if you celebrate Christmas and then tell us to leave Jesus out of it..... ain't gonna happen.

Merry Christmas and I hope you have a wonderful day.

[LWolf]

56. No.

If our christian friends are bothered by it, we don't have to call it "christmas." We can call it Yule, solstice, or any number of other names for winter traditions.

The trees, gifts, etc. are not traditions about christ's birth, anyway.

I've always found it fascinating that traditions based on the solstice, welcoming the sun back as a celebration of seasonal cycles, could so easily be transferred to welcoming the "son."

Evergreens are a natural symbol of rebirth and life in the midst of winter; whether of the seasonal cycles, a pagan god, or christ.

[Orangepeel]

57. Do you celebrate Valentine's Day? St. Patrick's Day? Groundhog Day?

Why not? Many, many Christmas traditions are based on pagan rituals anyway. You can celebrate the heritage of it, even if you don't buy the religion.

[JanMichael]

59. Gifts and dinner with loved ones? Hell no. Church? Yes.

Easy.

[neebob]

60. No

And Christians who do nothing but eat, drink, kill trees, and shower themselves and their friends with expensive, unnecessary gifts have no room to talk, in my opinion. It's really rather obscene, isn't it? What do you suppose the G.W. Bushes of Crawford, Texas, are doing? Notice it's not all over the news, or if it is, I haven't seen it. I don't want to know how they've indulged themselves and what they haven't given up while others give up their lives to make them richer and more powerful. Last night I caught a couple minutes of Laura Bush babbling about fabulous this and fabulous that at the White House. Ugh! Lots of people can't afford a dead tree.

[LOL]

61. Upon reading your post

I came up with an immediate response which appears would have been superflously redundant.

[Selwynn]

65. Who the hell cares if it makes you happy! :)

Merry Merry Christmas to you!

[amazona]

66. it's fine

It is somewhat unclear why a Christian would celebrate Christmas if they're a fundamentalist and wanting to get all persnickety and anal-retentive. Christmas is not really Christ's birthday. It is the ancient pagan Yule/Saturnalia that worshippers of Christ and Mithras decided to latch onto as being also the birthdates of their gods. They knew their gods weren't born in winter but they wanted their people to be able to celebrate when everyone else was celebrating.

The main reason to celebrate Christmas is because it links us to the peoples of the past. If you are a people, and you have people in your past who were once pagans for whom the darkening of the days actually meant something...then I see no reason why you should not celebrate Christmas if you choose. If the change of seasons and the passage of years means something to you, Christmas has meaning and significance that it doesn't have if you just think it's a birthday celebration.

The secondary meanings of Christmas -- Christ's birth, the celebration of Mammon, etc. -- are optional. Take what is meaningful to you and leave the rest.

BTW I've definitely known Jews to do trees/Christmas gifts and at least one Muslim in-law as well. The holiday is only secondarily about one religion trying to claim it. It is mostly about our linkage to family, past, and heritage -- and, most of all, the gift of peace in winter after the hectic spring, summer, and fall activities of our formerly agricultural past. The tree and the gift exchange do not come from Christian practice; they go back to pagan practices of many thousand year's standing. Enjoy them if you like, and don't if you don't, but don't believe the modern-day Christian propaganda. My copy of the Gospels says NOTHING about decorating evergreens, drinking eggnog, or exchanging gifts on Christmas day.

[Terwilliger]

68. as an atheist, you can claim to do it simply for the exercise

making your gift-giving proclivities more genuine than simply relying on some religious imperative

[bobbieinok]

69. some years ago

ATC on NPR had a long report on Christmas in Japan.

They said that although most Japanese are not Christian, Christmas has become a popular holiday in Japan. They said the Japanese use it as a way to get together with family and friends, that there is/was no other Japanese holiday that has/had the 'get together with family' dimension.

[TreasonousBastard]

70. Of course not.

Lots of good replies in here so far, and I'll just add that Christmas isn't really such a big Christian deal anyway. Christ's birth was important, but not nearly as important as the resurrection, which was the whole point of his existence. Anyway, Christmas is about as secular now as St. Patrick's day, or the Easter Parade.

So, in the spirit of everyone just liking a big ol' party, atheists, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, and everyone else is invited in.

And, we hope we're invited to theirs.

Religion and worship, or the lack of it, is one's private business. Celebrations, though can be everyone's. As long as we respect someone else's beliefs, we don't have to share them to celebrate with them.

[LanternWaste]

72. I think fundamentally....

I think everyone here, faithful or faith-less would agree that Christmas is a day of symbolic meanings. C.S. Lewis wrote a great piece on the structure of that wonderful gift he called 'shared myth' in his book, The Problem With Pain. Shared Myth, the fundamental ideas and morals professed and practiced by man since the dawn of man regardless of culture or religion expresses itself in the same ways again and again. And in many, many cases, this expression is illustrated through Symbolism.

If this is indeed a day of deep symbolism, and symbolism being as it is, a highly and personally subjective word open to interpretation, I see absolutely no reason why you yourself cannot apply your own interpretations to the holiday symbols.

If your friend asked you out of sincere curiosity, then his question is valid. Although if he asked you to score a rhetorical point or to make you uncomfortable, then he should examine his own conscious before he attempts to examine yours.

[amazona]

73. and don't forget scientists celebrate it as...

...the Christmas Bird Count season. At least the ornithologists, biologists, and of course the many hobby level birders do.

In days gone by, the day after Christmas, was the day when many geese, ducks, even pigeons like the Passenger Pigeons, were slaughtered by the thousands. This is pagan -- a celebration of the abundance of nature -- not at all Christian, which does not celebrate the hunt.

In the early 20th century or maybe even the late 19th century, the abundance came to an end, and people who loved the birds decided to celebrate a census (count) of the winter bird population instead.

I don't know if the CBC is observed outside North America but it is a VERY big deal among the birders and ornithologists in the U.S. especially Louisiana.

A modern form of nature "worship" if you must -- or at least nature appreciation. It also provides some scientific data and tracking of how our bird migrations have changed over the years as a result of pesticides, global warming, etc.



Nature repays our study, and rare birds are found each year during the CBC counts.

[fortyfeetunder]

74. There is no proof Christ was born "exactly" on 25 Dec.

Not having positive evidence Christ as born exactly on the 25th of December -- I'd agree the holiday is a spillover from the celebration of the winter solstice, that is, celebrating the shortest day of the year. So we can take heart that the religion part was mashed in, and Christ's real "birthday" is somewhere in that period.

[Beaker]

78. IF there was a christ...

going by the story in the bible, it's more likely that he was born in mid-late spring.

[Kamika]

75. BECAUSE YOU GET FRIGGIN PRESENTS!!

Id celebrate CHristmas even if I was a Jew omg why not get abunch of presents, and go to a bunch of parties :D