Anonymous wrote:OP here. If you celebrate for the reasons you've mentioned, such as "it's fun" and "not really a religious holiday" then why don't people of other faiths celebrate it too? I know they've got their own holidays around that time, but they actually go out of their way to avoid the festivities. I know that Christmas has become too commercial, but perhaps that's because too many people are not celebrating it for the right reasons.

How do you explain it to your kids? When they find out that their friends celebrate it because of Jesus' birth, but that you don't believe. Do you just tell them because it's fun.

Anonymous wrote:I'm a practicing Hindu. I put up a tree, stockings, lights every year. I exchange gifts with my friends and family. When I was younger, I went caroling. When I was a kid, I believed in Santa and my mom would put presents under our tree after we had gone to bed on Dec 24. She'd even take a bite out of the cookies we would leave for Santa.

This year, my DD is 20 months. I told her it is a special day because we celebrate the birthday of a divine person. We'll sing happy birthday to Jesus. My beliefs don't exclude being able recognizing God in all forms and religions. I want DD to grow up being able to accept Godly people whether we call him/her by the name Krishna, Jesus, Buddha or Mohammed.

Oh and I have a degree in religion so I kinda know my stuff.

Anonymous wrote:OP here. If you celebrate for the reasons you've mentioned, such as "it's fun" and "not really a religious holiday" then why don't people of other faiths celebrate it too? I know they've got their own holidays around that time, but they actually go out of their way to avoid the festivities. I know that Christmas has become too commercial, but perhaps that's because too many people are not celebrating it for the right reasons.

How do you explain it to your kids? When they find out that their friends celebrate it because of Jesus' birth, but that you don't believe. Do you just tell them because it's fun.

Anonymous wrote:I notice OP has just chosen to ignore when someone pointed out that a Christmas tree is a pagan symbol. So OP, if you are not a troll, then you will respond to this: do you have a Christmas tree? Do you celebrate the birth of Christ on December 25th because it was actually when Jesus was born? Did you know that actually, the church wanted to stamp out paganism and pagan tradition, so the pope declared in the 4th c. that Christs birthday would be celebrated on the same day as the Winter Solstice? Some other pagan symbols that Christians decided to adopt: red berries and green holly leaves, mistletoe and wreaths, etc. Now, are YOU a PAGAN?! If not, then why do you celebrate by using pagan symbols?

You don't own this holiday just because you are a "Christian" (quotes are added because you seem very unChristian in your attitude and treatment of other people that have chosen a path differently than yours). Would Jesus be proud of your judgement of other people? Why not appreciate that whatever holiday traditions people celebrate, we should all try to have good will towards our fellow humans. I'm sure you're a fine person, but you really might want to stop wasting your time on DCUM and study the teachings of the prophet you profess to follow.

Anonymous wrote:You're off in some of your assumptions. I'm an atheist, I celebrate Christmas, and I spend no time making fun of Christians, or people with any other religious beliefs. None of the atheists I know avoid calling Christmas Day Christmas. But I don't wish people "merry Christmas" this time of year unless I know they celebrate Christmas. I send holiday cards rather than Christmas cards because I have friends and family with varying belief systems, but I don't know of anyone who doesn't celebrate one of the several holidays this time of year. I celebrate Christmas because it is a cherished family tradition; the tree, the gifts, music, baking, parties, family gatherings. With all due respect, no one needs to justify to you what holidays they celebrate.