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James Murray

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Should people who are not Christian celebrate Christmas?

I tire of people who claim they are atheists and non Christians celebrating Christmas, it is hypocritical to the point you are not even permitted to mention the name of the Messiah without being told to stop "being a bore". The only reason Christmas exists is to celebrate the birth of Christ (yes I bloody know the date was changed) so why do people insist on changing the name of the festival to "Xmas" and try to remove religion from it?
These ignorant shallow people can find other festivals with which to explore their boring conformist ideals. Christmas is for the Christians, it brings non Christians together also and that is the beauty of it but stop trying to steal it to suit commercialism.

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    Thais Carvalho

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    Dec 27 2012: No, I do not believe people who are not Christians should celebrate Christmas. I am Catholic, and the significance of Christmas is not gift giving, bright lights, or Santa Claus, it is the Birth of Jesus Christ. I feel the same way Muslims would feel if non-Muslims were celebrating Ramadan, or how Jewish people would feel if non-Jewish people celebrated Rosh Hashanah or Hanukkah. Christmas is a Christian holiday, and I believe it should stay that way.
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      Theodore A. Hoppe 200+

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      Dec 28 2012: So, what did you do to "celebrate," as you put it, Christmas?
      Celebrate seems to me a strange word to use in the context of a religious holy day.
      Another religions use the word observance, " the action or practice of fulfilling or respecting the requirements of law, morality, or ritual : strict observance of the rules | the decline in religious observance."
      I have been to the homes of others and observed their traditions with them. The problem with Christmas is that the rituals are gone. We are increasingly a society that declines the traditions of the church. Hence, we are left with commercialism and secular decorations.
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        Thais Carvalho

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        Dec 28 2012: I celebrate Christmas by going to a church ceremony on Christmas Eve, and having a Dinner after followed by the opening of presents.
        The rituals may be gone for some, but in my culture specifically it is not, I am Brazilian, and Christmas is sacred to us. We observe it not as a day of gift giving and food/drink, but as a holiday of religious significance, the holy birth of Jesus Christ.

    • Gordon Barker 10+

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      Dec 28 2012: Interesting point of view. I don't suppose it would help to point out that Jesus if he actually lived was not born on December 25. I have heard of dates in the fall and as early as June. The actual date was set sometime in the mid 4th century to be December 25 to correspond with existing solstice celebrations.
      So you are really a non-pagan co-opting my holiday of Yule with your new fangled holy talk.
      Our rituals are not gone, we celebrate them fully as in the old days.
      I won't take offence if you still want to use the day. We pagans are not ones to get our noses out of joint like some I could mention

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