Sooo...who is atheist here?

[letswastemoney]

Originally Posted by hi_im_god

which part is christian?

the tree? the lights around the house? the exchanging of gifts?

humans celebrated this season together long before jesus. did you ever wonder why it's right around the winter solstice?

i love xmas. just because i don't believe in the supernatural doesn't mean i wouldn't enjoy a chance to share time with family and friends.

It's supposed to be about the birth of Jesus.

The exchanging of gifts relates to the story in the Bible where the 3 men traveled a long way to witness the birth of Jesus and when they got there, they arrived with gifts.

I understand there was winter solstice though before Christmas. I wouldn't mind if they called it Winter Solstice again.

[AeWingnut]

like many things

Christmas was a pagan holiday before it was claimed to be the birthday of our Lord

[Danzig]

Originally Posted by AeWingnut

like many things

Christmas was a pagan holiday before it was claimed to be the birthday of our Lord

yes, it was. the modern christian holy days occur when there were once pagan celebrations. it was to help make conversion to christianity easier to accomplish....hey, instead of going to your festival, try ours for a change. pagans used to have a winter solstice festival-they celebrated the sun on that day. interesting when you think about it.
no one knows when jesus was actually born. among other things, the council of nicea, held by constantine, set christmas in december.

[hi_im_god]

Originally Posted by letswastemoney

It's supposed to be about the birth of Jesus.

The exchanging of gifts relates to the story in the Bible where the 3 men traveled a long way to witness the birth of Jesus and when they got there, they arrived with gifts.

I understand there was winter solstice though before Christmas. I wouldn't mind if they called it Winter Solstice again.

i think even for a devout christian it can be less about the literal birth of jesus than the figurative return of god's glory to man. that he came to suffer for our sins because we couldn't find our way back to god's glory without him is a beautiful story that connects on many levels. it doesn't last 2000 years otherwise.

i celebrate xmas because it's part of the sea i swim in.

but i don't have to believe someone in ancient greece actually flew on wings made of wax and feather's to understand what the larger message in the myth of icarus was.

and if everyone around me was celebrating man's first flight and it's tragic consequences on 12-25, i'd still participate even if i wondered why everyone was taking it so literally.