Merry Christmas - Oh Its Not the Birth Of Jesus

Ok it's Christmas eve here and i don't want to be negative but i'm a little tired of being told Christmas is a Christian holiday. There is no record of Jesus being born at Christmas. The simple facts of the matter are that as Christianity spread into Europe the invading Christians (yes you invaded) disliked the native Pagan religion and so they sought to hijack their religious holidays.

The 25th of December just so happened to be around the winter solstice in the north and what is really funny is that if you look back in time, birthdays were considered a pagan tradition according to christianity. Christians in the past did not celebrate any birth because of this.

I celebrate christmas for the family, friends, food and drink. It's always a great time and really do we need more of a reason to celebrate a day other than family and friends all being together?

Well i'm going out to a party, whilst i am usually a very controlled person who rarely drinks more than a pint or two i like to let go at this time of year.

Merry Christmas and a happy new year.

...and?

It's the celebration of his birth in the Christian faith. The actual day? Who cares.

Why does it matter to you, and others, so much? I'm not Christian, at least not so's you'd notice.

No one really knows when the Christ was born. So a date was established. I really don't understand why this is an issue...

Celebrate the message He brought.

yeah,
and it´s all about the sun!
On 21/22. dec is the shortest day and it marks the "agricultural" new year. But also interesting is, on the morning of the 25th dec the earth is at the farest point away from sun. It marks the real beginning of a new cycle, new year!
in the morning when the sun raises, it stands in one line with sirius and the orion belt.
The story about jesus and the three kings is nothing more than astronomical facts put into methaphers.
Jesus is just one more methaphorical person for suns worship and nobody checks it!

reply to post by ImaginaryReality1984


Hi ImaginaryReality1984... i think you already know that I’m a Christian. I actually know a lot of Christians who refuse to partake in Christmas at all due to its pagan origin/influences. Oh well, their loss

I do celebrate it... to be honest i don’t care what anyone thinks... I Love Christmas!!

Although, for me personally, it does have a spiritual meaning... it is also a time for family and friends... a time to get together and celebrate.

I've got Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Jewish, and Atheist friends who all celebrate Christmas... and why not?? It’s great fun and whether you believe it’s the Birthday of Christ, the celebration of winter solstice, or the anniversary of He-Man and She-Ra’s intergalactic marriage... who cares? Just have fun and enjoy the festivities

I prefer to see it not as the hijacking of a pagan tradition... but the merging of festivities

Merry Christmas mate

Muckster

reply to post by Muckster

I prefer to see it not as the hijacking of a pagan tradition... but the merging of festivities

...and there you have it. Celebrate whatever meaning it has for you...no one who matters is going to care. God certainly won't...

reply to post by seagull


Luckily i spotted this just before i went out. It matters because i am repeatedly told it's a Christian holiday and so why, as an atheist should i be able to celebrate it. So yeah i have very logical motives, if the self righteous Christians didn't keep on saying it is their holiday i would have no issue. It is not their holiday, it is in all rights a pagan holiday that was appropriated.

Ok going out finally, Merry Christmas.

I don't care if someone wants to call it the birthday of Jesus. It doesn't affect my life in any way. People celebrate (or not) in the way that suits them and as long as they don't make me do something that I don't want to do, I'm all right with it.

I got legally married on one day and then my husband and I went into the woods on the next day and had a ceremony of our own. The second ceremony is the day we call our anniversary. It's no one's business but ours. No one is coming to us and saying, "Hey! This isn't your real anniversary"!

reply to post by ImaginaryReality1984


To some it is. A Christian holiday, I mean...they've made it one. To others it's a pagan holiday...because they've made it one. Pagans certainly have a prior claim to it..., by several thousand years or so...

It's a big enough, and important enough, day for people to share it.

Happy Christmas to all of you...even you Pagans

Happy Winter Solstice to all of you...even you Christians

...and may we all prosper in the times to come together.

reply to post by Benevolent Heretic


Good for you, BH.

Celebrate as you choose and "phooey" on the naysayers...

Well, I am an atheist (or at least I think I am ) and I like the "Christmas spirit", even if it was brought to us through some not so clear ways.

I see that people, even some that are not Christians, see this as an opportunity for getting their family and friends together and celebrate something.

I don't think that Christians consider that giving toys to their children will help their religion in any way, but they do it, so I guess it's something that people feel the need to do, regardless of their religion, and that's why every religion (to my knowledge) has at least a special day of the year for their celebrations, we like to do it.

Having said all that, happy (insert name here) everyone.

And remember, if it's a way of not having to go to work on that day, then it's a reason for celebration.

Let people view Christmas how they want.

For some its just another holiday.
For some its a religious event.
For some its hell.
For some its a flat wallet.
For some its a week in heaven.

To tell you the truth, I could care less about the whole religious background of Christmas.

It matters because i am repeatedly told it's a Christian holiday and so why, as an atheist should i be able to celebrate it.

Isn't Christmas a civic holiday in the UK? Well, yes, so it would seem:

www.direct.gov.uk...

And, um, isn't that the answer to the question you mention?

How burdensome was that?

So, is there anything else that bothers you about Christians commemorating the birth of the Christ, on a day that is convenient for them to do so? Oh, yeah:

It is not their holiday, it is in all rights a pagan holiday that was appropriated.

Really? I thought the solstice was all about the Earth going around the Sun. I had no idea that pagans had anything to do with that, or any human beings, actually.

I thought it was a fact of nature. Not the sort of thing any person could own, nor deprive anyone else the use of.

OK, now I know better. What's the remedy? Restore pagan worship?

How does that help you? You're an atheist. You'd just tell the pagans that their gods are junk. No doubt they'll appreciate your instruction as wholeheartedly as the Christians do now.

And, just like the Christians do now, those pagans would ask you, repeatedly, "Why, as an atheist, should you be able to celebrate our holiday?"

And we'd be right back, just where we are now.

Can't win, IR. Merry Christmas. Happy Yule. Bodacious Boxing Day, too.

Originally posted by seagull
...and?

It's the celebration of his birth in the Christian faith. The actual day? Who cares.

Why does it matter to you, and others, so much? I'm not Christian, at least not so's you'd notice.

No one really knows when the Christ was born. So a date was established. I really don't understand why this is an issue...

Celebrate the message He brought.

This really says it all.
These days, I think people should be grateful for any reason to celebrate, be good to each other, and allow ourselves a moment to ponder the possibility of a powerful, loving God being born into the world.

Hahahaha...To all of ya'll that say it doesn't matter what date jesus was born on....

Go out and celebrate your birthday on Sept. 3rd or July 6th, even if it isn't.

Go tell the Dept. Of Drivers Services and the SS Administration a different date for your b'day...see how THEY react... Heck, let's change the day we celebrate Martin Luther King on and see if we don't have a revolt in this country.

"It doesn't matter".....

Mary X-mas to all....

peas

Hey, Christmas only comes once a year!

Of course, so does June 6th, February 21 and September 16th.

It doesn't matter if it's the birth of Jesus or not. It's only celebrated as such on one day per year. It's not like Jesus is trying to cheat on his drivers license or social security.

So let's try acting towards each other everyday as we do on xmas.

hmmm...an entire year without bombing each other?....no way...it'll never happen.

Jesus didn't have to get a license.....that's a good one...I will cherish that golden nugget from this day forward......

I believe holiday traffic really brings out the true nature of mankind...

How many people on this board ever said this while behind the wheel of their car?....."C'mon a**hole..jesus, get throught the light..I have to get to the store to get presents".....

I suppose we celebrate jesus without even knowing it......I'll bet he suked at parallel parking in a donkey drawn wagon.....

oooppps...sorry, gotta get back to the news about Tiger.....

reality and truth confuse me........

peas

I don't need Christian beliefs to justify any holiday. I know that they're all pagan anyway. People who go to church at Christmas and Easter must think they're really fooling God. They say he is all knowing and all powerful and omnipresent, yet they think they can fool him by going to church a couple times a year. Good luck to them. Hopefully they'll let us know how that works out. You know what? For me, the holidays are the best days to skip church. Then one doesn't have to be around a bunch of fake people.

Im a Christian an have been told by other Christians that I shouldn't celebrate
it because of the laws of Moses . I say Hogwash. Go for it . Have fun. enjoy.
Merry Christmas.