To ask a question about Christmas, and celebrating it....

[mcrvamp]

Right! Over the last couple of months I have read many threads slating Christians and how spreading the word of God and Jesus is wrong, I hate religon..... etc, etc.

So I would like to ask a question to those of you that feel this way.

Why do you celebrate Chritmas, when it is so clearly a religous festival?

Isn't it alla bit hypocritical (sp?)

And of course Easter eggs and Easter bunnies are pagan fertility symbols.

but father christmas is the evolution of a story about a saint... so that in itself is sort of christian???

(I'm sure there's some sort of pagan/cultural santa equivalent that came before the saint though)

I don't think we should burn Catholics but we still had fireworks the other day.

Cold is god's way of telling us to burn more Catholics, mardy. It hasn't frosted yet, that's your problem.

Apparently . . . . .

'pagans worshipped a pantheon led by Woden ?their chief god and the father of Thor, Balder, and Tiw. Woden had a long, white beard and rode a horse through the heavens one evening each Autumn. When Nicholas merged with Woden, he shed his Mediterranean appearance, grew a beard, mounted a flying horse, rescheduled his flight for December, and donned heavy winter clothing.'

Basically everything is merged and intertwined.

but father christmas is the evolution of a story about a saint... so that in itself is sort of christian???

Might be about a saint but naff all to do with Christmas ie the birth of Christ from what I can work out...

Easter is my favourite pagan holiday, celebrating the new spring and fertility and things like that.

ROFL mardy and feministdragon :)

I though Beltine was the fertility festival with the may pole? (prepared to be corrected)

Brandy I think in truth most of them were fertility festivals ^^

I think most pagan festivals were concerned with fertility and shagging.

LOL chance to be at it like rabbits some rutting in the shadows of the fires...

I like presents and Easter eggs.

ivana - FWIW St Nick has to do with Christmas if you accept that twee legends. He turns up on Christmas Eve (or some date around then) to give 'gifts' to people in need. And being a saint, his selfless actions are seen as imitatio Christ, the imitation of Christ.

I miss fertility festivals.

We should have those.

Yeah bring back fertility festivals, lets do a MN revolution of the old ways

Might be about a saint but naff all to do with Christmas ie the birth of Christ from what I can work out..

every day of the year (bar maybe good friday??) is at least one saint's day though isn't it?, today is probably a number of saint's day and st nic was given christmas

and as has been posted, his actions were an immitation of christ etc etc

Shortly followed by a MN revolution in 'could I possibly be pregnant having had unprotected sex during my fertile period, and with this funny thing with the blue line on it' AIBUs?

It was ours first. What are all you Christians doing hijacking our lights, food, fun and greenery celebration?

Festivus, anyone?

Yes and then it would be now work out my dates and tell me who the daddy is

Well, we nicked off with a human body for our god, mrstp - what did you expect?!

I don't celebrate christmas. I do celebrate the solstice.

I do encourage those who do celebrate christmas to do so in the best way for them.

live & let live

i'm atheist

i celebrate christmas because i was brought up with santa and christmas trees and present buying/giving/receiving and family get-togethers, it cretaed some brilliant memories of anticipation and comfort and togetherness and celebration and lots of happiness. i wanted my children to experience this so i introduced them to christmas from birth and have continued the tradition. we all enjoy the build up, the preparation the search for the perfect present, making the decorations and cards and of course getting the presents on christmas day. i think it's fair to say that while christmas began as a christian celebration, it is no longer exclusive to that group of people. nobody 'owns' a celebration and anybody can choose to observe it and adjust it according to their own beliefs. i dont think it harms anyone for non-christians to celebrate it. it is the season of goodwill and encourages alot of people to think of others in a way they may not during the rest of the year. that cant be a bad thing.

Oestrus (Easter/Esther/Astarte) - Pagan Goddess of fertility, hence the eggs and rabbits. Old Norse legends were used by early Church Leaders to soften the transition from old Paganistic beliefs to modern Christianity. Modern Astronomy estimates the birth of (historical) Jesus to have been in September, Christmas is a Pagan midwinter festival from the literal dark ages - hoping the sun would come back, as we all still do on cold dark Winter mornings!

I don't ce,ebrate it so yah boo sucks to you.

Actually I buy presents for a few people, but they are actually church goers.