Do you believe in Jesus Christ? If no, do you celebrate....

Christmas?? if yes explain why you celebrate even you don't believe in Jesus Christ my Personal Savior.

Christmas isn't about Jesus anyway.

Because I like beer, presents, and spending time with the family. All three together in one day makes for a fun occasion.

I do believe in Jesus Christ and of course I celebrate Christmas :)

There are many people who celebrate Christmas and are not religious. Some people celebrate by spending time with family and friends. Others for the gifts and food. Anyone can celebrate Christmas if they choose to. I don't see why not.

Christmas isn't about Jesus anyway.

jerk-o-tron2000

I call it "Get Free Stuff and Buy Stuff for Others Day."

THE_DRUGGIE

Basically, this.

[QUOTE="jerk-o-tron2000"]

Christmas isn't about Jesus anyway.

optiow

Too true. It used to be about Paganism.

Yep. There's biblical proof too, for you believers.

[QUOTE="jerk-o-tron2000"]

Christmas isn't about Jesus anyway.

optiow

Actually...it was always meant to be about Christ's birth. Some secular themes made their way in though.

Lets be honest, Christmas in a contemporary sense has very little to do with Jesus.

I don't believe in him, and I hang a Christmas tree up with my family, because to be honest where I live no one cares about Jesus Christ or Christianity. We just do it to be with our families. optiow

[QUOTE="optiow"]

[QUOTE="jerk-o-tron2000"]

Christmas isn't about Jesus anyway.

jerk-o-tron2000

Too true. It used to be about Paganism.

Yep. There's biblical proof too, for you believers.

Let's see it then.

Nope, but christmas is a national holiday

[QUOTE="jerk-o-tron2000"]

Christmas isn't about Jesus anyway.

optiow

Christmas?? if yes explain why you celebrate even you don't believe in Jesus Christmy Personal Savior.

LightGalaxy_07

Fixed.

And I celebrate Christmas because I like the idea of taking a holiday that is supposed to be about the birth of a religious figure and making it all about me. Well, not really, but that dynamic pisses certain people off and I count that as a good thing. Really I celebrate it because my parents do, if it were up to me I'd just celebrate on harvest festival and I prefer Thanksgiving.

[QUOTE="optiow"][QUOTE="jerk-o-tron2000"]

Christmas isn't about Jesus anyway.

J-man45

Actually...it was always meant to be about Christ's birth. Some secular themes made their way in though.

"Some" is a bit of an understatement. All of the traditional and most standard forms of celebration on Christmas, from tree-decorating to feasting to gift-giving, are completely pagan in origin. The origins of Christmas are basically Christians trying to win converts by making them able to still continue their pagan celebrations after having converted, and just blatantly making up Jesus' birthday as a contrived reason to associate it with Christianity.

[QUOTE="LightGalaxy_07"]

Christmas?? if yes explain why you celebrate even you don't believe in Jesus Christ my Personal Savior.

theone86

Fixed.

[QUOTE="J-man45"]

[QUOTE="optiow"] Too true. It used to be about Paganism. GabuEx

Actually...it was always meant to be about Christ's birth. Some secular themes made their way in though.

"Some" is a bit of an understatement. All of the traditional and most standard forms of celebration on Christmas, from tree-decorating to feasting to gift-giving, are completely pagan in origin.

Mostly true.... But to say that Christmas original intent was not about Jesus is a false statement. Just look at the name of the holiday.

The origins of Christmas are basically Christians trying to win converts by making them able to still continue their pagan celebrations after having converted, and just blatantly making up Jesus' birthday as a contrived reason to associate it with Christianity.

GabuEx

I would like to see your evidence for this, please.

[QUOTE="GabuEx"]

[QUOTE="J-man45"]

Actually...it was always meant to be about Christ's birth. Some secular themes made their way in though.

J-man45

"Some" is a bit of an understatement. All of the traditional and most standard forms of celebration on Christmas, from tree-decorating to feasting to gift-giving, are completely pagan in origin.

Mostly true.... But to say that Christmas original intent was not about Jesus is a false statement. Just look at the name of the holiday.

Ummm...to the best of our knowledge Christ wasn't born in December, or even in winter for that matter. It was moved to December to coincide with the pagan harvest festivals.

jesus is my home dog

[QUOTE="GabuEx"]

[QUOTE="J-man45"]

Actually...it was always meant to be about Christ's birth. Some secular themes made their way in though.

J-man45

"Some" is a bit of an understatement. All of the traditional and most standard forms of celebration on Christmas, from tree-decorating to feasting to gift-giving, are completely pagan in origin.

Mostly true.... But to say that Christmas original intent was not about Jesus is a false statement. Just look at the name of the holiday.

The original intent is what I said in my edit to that post. It was an attempt to Christianize a pagan holiday to make Christianity more palatable to pagans who quite enjoyed their forms of celebration. I don't think anyone actually thought that Jesus was born on December 25.

The original intent is what I said in my edit to that post. It was an attempt to Christianize a pagan holiday to make Christmas more palatable to pagans who quite enjoyed their forms of celebration. I don't think anyone actually thought that Jesus was born on December 25.

GabuEx

Oh you'd be surprised.

[QUOTE="GabuEx"]

The origins of Christmas are basically Christians trying to win converts by making them able to still continue their pagan celebrations after having converted, and just blatantly making up Jesus' birthday as a contrived reason to associate it with Christianity.

J-man45

I would like to see your evidence for this, please.

The evidence is right in the holiday itself. It coincides perfectly with a pagan holiday, contains all of the pagan forms of celebration that occurred on that holiday, and is absolutely nowhere near where Jesus' actual birthday likely occurred within the year. If that doesn't make it already obvious what its purpose was, then I don't think anything is going to.

[QUOTE="jerk-o-tron2000"]

[QUOTE="optiow"]

Too true. It used to be about Paganism.

J-man45

Yep. There's biblical proof too, for you believers.

Let's see it then.

Fine:

The bible NEVER mention Jesus being born on December.
December in Bethlehem (Where Jesus was born) is colda and damp.....No shepher would be outside in these conditions. Is it logical for anyone to be herding animals in that type of climate?

[QUOTE="GabuEx"]

The original intent is what I said in my edit to that post. It was an attempt to Christianize a pagan holiday to make Christmas more palatable to pagans who quite enjoyed their forms of celebration. I don't think anyone actually thought that Jesus was born on December 25.

ragek1ll589

Oh you'd be surprised.

Key word "thought", as in when it was actually established as a holiday. Of course people today out of tradition believe without question that December 25 was Jesus' birthday.

The extent to which Christianity has been paganized since its inception, and the way in which people accept these things without question, is just astonishing, really.

No I don't believe in Jesus Christ, and yes my family has celebrated it every year.

Why? Because we love the holidays. We love putting up a tree, & we love giving each other gifts. Simple as that : D

[QUOTE="J-man45"]

[QUOTE="GabuEx"]

"Some" is a bit of an understatement. All of the traditional and most standard forms of celebration on Christmas, from tree-decorating to feasting to gift-giving, are completely pagan in origin.

GabuEx

Mostly true.... But to say that Christmas original intent was not about Jesus is a false statement. Just look at the name of the holiday.

The original intent is what I said in my edit to that post. It was an attempt to Christianize a pagan holiday to make Christmas more palatable to pagans who quite enjoyed their forms of celebration. I don't think anyone actually thought that Jesus was born on December 25.

Indeed that is true, just as many chruches were built near sacred sites - namely sacred wells - for the same reason. Clever lot them Christians - gotta give it to 'em it worked...

I celebrate Christmas because it existed long before Christianity did. It was a celebration of the end of the year, of the harvest and the success and continued health of the community. It was about celebrating togetherness with good food, good drinks and good times. It had nothing to do with Jesus, or his birth, and I think it would benefit a lot more people if the religious aspect wasn't emphasized in the public eye, so that the feeling of community togetherness could be shared by people who aren't Christians.

EDIT: I should also add that it is Jesus' "divinity" that I do not believe in, not him as a human, or a Jewish reformer. He created a following from his teaching of absolute compassion for all (whether street scum or royalty) that had a substantial effect on humanity in the West, to the same degree the Buddha's teachings did for Asia... and for a lot of people has been lost among dogma, tradition and ritual and most unfortunately, selfishness and greed for power and money. If Jesus were still alive, he'd want to kill himself knowing what people are doing in the name of his teachings.

[QUOTE="J-man45"]

[QUOTE="GabuEx"]

The origins of Christmas are basically Christians trying to win converts by making them able to still continue their pagan celebrations after having converted, and just blatantly making up Jesus' birthday as a contrived reason to associate it with Christianity.

GabuEx

I would like to see your evidence for this, please.

The evidence is right in the holiday itself. It coincides perfectly with a pagan holiday, contains all of the pagan forms of celebration that occurred on that holiday, and is absolutely nowhere near where Jesus' actual birthday likely occurred within the year. If that doesn't make it already obvious what its purpose was, then I don't think anything is going to.

First of all I never said I thought Jesus was actually born on December 25 for you and that other guy who responded.

And you can look at however you like, but there is no reliable source of evidence that I've found that says Christmas was set up solely for the purpose of a false holiday to try to convert pagans. And there are several theories on why December 25 was chosen, and none of the most popular mention anything about to attract the pagans. You have not provided any concrete evidence.

Christmas, for Christians, is a celebration of Christ coming into the world. And it's not unbiblical, as some will say.

First of all I never said I thought Jesus was actually born on December 25 for you and that other guy who responded.

And you can look at however you like, but there is no reliable source of evidence that I've found that says Christmas was set up solely for the purpose of a false holiday to try to convert pagans. And there are several theories on why December 25 was chosen, and none of the most popular mention anything about to attract the pagans. You have not provided any concrete evidence.

Christmas, for Christians, is a celebration of Christ coming into the world. And it's not unbiblical, as some will say.

J-man45

So Christmas just happened to occur at the same time as a pagan holiday, happened to contain literally all of the same forms of celebration as that pagan holiday, happened to be nowhere temporally near the event it's said to celebrate, and happened to be created at a time when Christians were actively seeking pagan converts?

That's an awfully coincidental holiday on our hands there.

[QUOTE="GabuEx"]

[QUOTE="J-man45"]

Mostly true.... But to say that Christmas original intent was not about Jesus is a false statement. Just look at the name of the holiday.

poptart

The original intent is what I said in my edit to that post. It was an attempt to Christianize a pagan holiday to make Christmas more palatable to pagans who quite enjoyed their forms of celebration. I don't think anyone actually thought that Jesus was born on December 25.

Indeed that is true, just as many chruches were built near sacred sites - namely sacred wells - for the same reason. Clever lot them Christians - gotta give it to 'em it worked...

You mean they built churches as a sort of victory monument over pagan religious sites?

[QUOTE="J-man45"]

First of all I never said I thought Jesus was actually born on December 25 for you and that other guy who responded.

And you can look at however you like, but there is no reliable source of evidence that I've found that says Christmas was set up solely for the purpose of a false holiday to try to convert pagans. And there are several theories on why December 25 was chosen, and none of the most popular mention anything about to attract the pagans. You have not provided any concrete evidence.

Christmas, for Christians, is a celebration of Christ coming into the world. And it's not unbiblical, as some will say.

GabuEx

So Christmas just happened to occur at the same time as a pagan holiday, happened to contain literally all of the same forms of celebration as that pagan holiday, happened to be nowhere temporally near the event it's said to celebrate, and happened to be created at a time when Christians were actively seeking pagan converts?

That's an awfully coincidental holiday on our hands there.

Even if all you say holds water (you are still yet to provide a reliable source which addresses these claims) it was still established by Christians. A popular theory is that it was chosen as the date nine months after the date early Christians believed Jesus was conceived, in case you were wondering. The fact of the matter is, Christmas means something to Christians. I can celebrate the coming of my savior, no matter what day he was actually born on. It's not unbiblical, as I have already explained.

First of all I never said I thought Jesus was actually born on December 25 for you and that other guy who responded.

And you can look at however you like, but there is no reliable source of evidence that I've found that says Christmas was set up solely for the purpose of a false holiday to try to convert pagans. And there are several theories on why December 25 was chosen, and none of the most popular mention anything about to attract the pagans. You have not provided any concrete evidence.

Christmas, for Christians, is a celebration of Christ coming into the world. And it's not unbiblical, as some will say.

J-man45

Many Christian traditions such as Christmas have their roots in evangelism such as this. However, that root is often lost as the tradition continues.

Christmas?? if yes explain why you celebrate even you don't believe in Jesus Christ our Personal Savior.

LightGalaxy_07

christmas=christ mass (its not his birthday morons)

I celebrate Christmas because I like it.

Christmas is more pagan in its origins anyway.

Do I believe in Jesus?
No, at least not the fairy tale aspects of him that you read in the bible.

Why do I celebrate Christmas if I don't believe in Jesus as YOUR personal savior?
Because the Winter Solstice was never about Jesus to begin with until the date was, hmm, "borrowed" from the Pagans and eventually absorbed by the Christian movement. If anything, the way most of the world celebrate activities that people partake in on Dec 25th is more akin to the Pagan traditions than to Christianity's vision of that specific time of the year.