Why do Christmas if you don't believe?

[Mrspotter12]

Really not wanting to start a bun fight, but it you aren't religious and don't believe in Father Christmas - to the point of not wanting to "lie" to your DC and so asking what to tell them, then why do it? Why have Christmas at all?

Because it's fun and a good excuse for a party and general merriment.

Family traditions. Cultural traditions. England has always been a Christian country so it is just natural to continue with traditions going back generations.

We do it as a tradition and as fun not as a religious thing - it's not difficult to understand if you don't center your own views

it's a nice excuse to celebrate family and togetherness, eat nice food and all spoil each other a bit

It’s nice to put a tree up. It’s nice to see family. It’s nice to exchange presents.

We do it because:

• it's traditional (DH and I both grew up in middle England CofE households)
• it's nice to give presents to each other
• it's nice to plan and have a big meal all together, particularly when we share the day with family and friends
• the house looks nice when its decorated
• we can afford it without forfeiting essentials
• we want to!

Why not?

Why not? It's fun, it's festive, its a warm and cozy highlight of long, dark winter months.
I've been to Eid celebrations and 4th July celebrations without being either Muslim or American too....

Because it’s as much a cultural tradition as a religious one.

Because it's the most wonderful time of the year

Believe in what?

A festival looking very like Christmas goes back a very long way in England and is, I believe rooted in Paganism.

As a PP says Christmas celebrations are as much a part of English cultural traditions as they are religious traditions.

I think most people who celebrate who don’t believe come from a long line of people who did believe - religion has only recently become optional really, so it’s a tradition that’s only just lost its religious aspects for most people. My great grandparents believed in god more out of habit and I feel like the younger generations are really starting to question it but still enjoying the traditional Christmas.

People of different religions might choose to celebrate because it’s a cultural thing here, there’s no escaping Christmas. I don’t believe in Jesus or organised religion at all but I love religious carols - to me, it’s a beautifully written story and a time that encourages generosity and kindness towards strangers, and I dig that. I wish there was that spirit all year round.

England has always been a Christian country

Not it hasn’t and Christmas wasn’t necessarily a Christmas festival in the first place. Someone much more adept than me will be along shortly to tell you exactly how and why.

I’m humanist, DH is atheist. DD is still working it out. We celebrate at Christmas tome because:

1. it’s horribly difficult to avoid it successfully.
2. although we don’t believe in the Christian story of Christmas, the festival is part of our culture and we do believe in other aspects and values it brings.
3. it’s the only period time of year we have together as a family uninterrupted and over the years we’ve built our own traditions. With the public holidays etc, it’s just good timing to do these when Christians celebrate Christmas.

Fair enough. I genuinely just wondered!

Growing up my mum had a friend who was a Jehovas Witness and mum always said if we didn't celebrate Christmas she would make sure she'd serve egg & chips and we'd spring clean the house to make sure we didn't celebrate!

For the same reason I would join in with national customs if I lived in another country, even if I didn't subscribe to that religion. Plus it's time away from work to focus on family and friends, and express gratitude to them for being in my life. Plus, you know, booze and chocolate.

It's a cultural tradition - most people grow up celebrating it and all children learn about it in school. It's also impossible to avoid!

And of course it has its roots in pre-Christian beliefs - everyone needs pretty decorations, lights, comfort and good food in mid-winter. The religious aspect is easily avoided if you don't believe.

We celebrate the mid winter festival but we don't refer to it as christmas.

I'm more into the pagan roots. And although I am not religious the nativity is a story that has nostalgic connections to my own childhood so I like to share those traditions with my children

Only because it is completely impossible to avoid.

We celebrate Yule and leave the commercial-fest that Christmas has become for the presents and over eating and drinking. It has no religious element for us at all.

Why does someone have to ask this every year?

Religion hijacked winter festivals ok? These winter festivals pre-date religious adoption and probably arose from a wish to celebrate during long dark days, with lights and gift giving and feasting on the animals who would not survive winter due to lack of grazing.

Yes, we call it Christmas because that is what has been adopted culturally in the Uk.

A much better question is why do all the Christians who raise this question everywhere have a tree, and decorate it with lights, eat turkey etc. The whole affair is much harder to explain, actually, if you are suggesting it’s in the name of Jesus.

Really not wanting to start a bun fight, but it you aren't religious and don't believe in Father Christmas

You do realise Father Christmas isn’t real don’t you. I’m not sure of any religions that believe in Father Christmas.....

Because it was originally a pagan tradition that celebrated the return of the light (the nights getting longer again).

When people turned Christian, they gave it its own spin (like burning figures on bonfire night IMO), but basically they carried on celebrating a thing they knew from before.

If happens all the time with folklore.

You could ask 'why do you celebrate Christmas if you believe?' seeing as it isn't the date of Jesus' birthday and most of the customs have nothing at all to do with Christianity.

I’m Jewish but we do Christmas in a fairly big way. My grandparents did too, despite being more devout than we are.I think they started our family traditions as a way of assimilating when they came to the U.K. Then my mum was adamant that she didn’t want my DBs and I to be left out of things at school when we were kids. Roll forward another generation and we have a big Christmas full of family, happiness, gifts, time together, food, etc. We don’t get involved in the religious side as that isn’t our tradition, but the happiness, love and joy of family is.

We also have our Hanukkah celebrations at more or less the same time (dates vary, but usually around the same time of year) so tend to do both at once. The religious side is expressed for Hanukkah.

Christmas is the only Christian festival we really get involved in. We don’t do anything for Easter, Lent, etc. I think Christmas has as many secular traditions as religious ones and a lot of families like ours have made our own to sit alongside their own religion.

Why if you're a Christian are you spending so much money on trees, turkeys and presents, instead of spending your time in reflective contemplation and going to church?

It's because it's nice to be with people you love, eat nice food and exchange presents - hardly a difficult concept.

They're celebrating Yule but for some reason they call it Christmas.