Reply to Will I regret not doing "Santa"?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]
I am simply pointing out that it's really weird to celebrate the traditions that are hallmarks of the faith and not share a fundamental belief in what drives the holiday in the first place. Maybe it's just a form of being a lemming who lacks critical thinking skills and going along to get along, but it's tremendously inconsistent. But I find it appalling that a self-professed "atheist" in particular would celebrate. This is not some anthropological thing, where you're in a strange land and experiencing some local custom, a "when in Rome" situation. Have some conviction in your beliefs. If you don't believe in God, why celebrate a holiday that is built around the birth of his Son?[/quote]

I'm perfectly comfortable celebrating Christmas. I believe in family and kindness and feasting and presents and having a nice party. I don't believe in Jesus. I tell my children exactly that. I also tell them that Santa Claus is just a fun game that parents play with kids.

I'm sorry that celebrating Christmas without a belief in Christ is threatening to you. However, Christians don't have first or only claim to a winter solstice holiday. The roots of the Christmas holiday are pagan, and as currently celebrated it's a pagan/Christian amalgamation.  Christmas trees owe their existence to the use of evergreens in pre-Christian winter rites to symbolize eternal life. Wreaths also symbolize eternal life in multiple pagan traditions. Yule was a pagan holiday for feasting.  Christians celebrate Christmas on December 25, because it was the Roman holiday celebrating the birthday of Sol Invictus, a Roman sun god.  Santa is a kindly replacement for Krampus. Diwali is an Indian religious holiday in December. Hannukah is a Jewish religious holiday in December. Hogmany is a pagan Gaelic New Year's holiday.

It just an excuse to throw a party, buy some presents, and have a nice meal. We don't go to church or put a creche or listen to religious music or sing religious music or  decorate with angels or Santas. The Christian content in our holiday is pretty much zero.

If I call it a Winter Solstice celebration, would you feel better?

Happy holidays!

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It's not threatening to me. I'm just genuinely perplexed. If you want to play a game, why not do it in May or something? Why hijack a religious tradition? Why confuse your children so?

The roots of Christmas as most certainly NOT pagan. Some pagan traditions have been appropriated, but the root of "Christmas" is a celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, even if it did, in fact, happen on a date other than Dec. 25; we don't celebrate Presidents Day on the same day Washington and Lincoln were born, either.

If it's winter solstice, fine. But lose the Christmas tree, the gifts, the Santa, and the celebration on Dec. 25 proper. Do it on the 22nd by howling at the moon or something.

But as it is, you sound like a very confused individual with no actual personal convictions whatsoever, and it's a real shame that you're raising your children to be that way, too.[/quote]

I don't see how my family celebrates the winter holidays should matter to you in the slightest  Are you afraid that if I can have Christmas without Christ, I might tempt  other people away from the church? Are you scared that if my kids get presents at Christmas, they might tell your kids that they don't have to do the Jesus thing in order to get presents?  Why does this matter to you?

Why is this reducing you to ad hominem attacks?  Why is atheism so threatening to you if you are SURE that you have the correct belief system?

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