Why do you celebrate Xmas?

[CoffeeTeaCoffee]

Why do you celebrate Xmas or what does it mean to you? Especially if you are not religious?

Our cat likes the smell of roast turkey. I like cheese and excessive wine drinking.
I also like catching up with friends and relatives.

But, most importantly, if I didn’t celebrate Christmas I would be expected to work it every year and cover those who don’t understand the importance of friends, cats, cheese and wine

Work closes for a week and it’s time to do not very much. Baking, eating, ice skating, enjoying the winter sun on the beach etc. I’m not religious but there’s something magical with the lights and the dark evenings.

Because everyone else does and it's nice to have that shared experience. A good friend at primary school was the child of Jehovah's Witnesses. I always felt sorry for her because she could never join in.

I love the feeling of togetherness it brings, the sense of ritual, the excitement of the children, and also i classify myself as a bit of a pagan so acknowledge Yule (celebration of the winter solstice) as part of the festive season.

Because it's the turning of the darkest part of the year, it feels good to have a bit of a celebration when the nights are so long, it's been a long slog since summer and spring is still some way away.

I'm an atheist, but I don't object to the religious side of it. It's just not part of my celebrations.

It's not as if christianity is the basis of christmas, the early church just chose a convenient date that co-opted as many pre-christian traditions as possible in order to achieve a smoother take-over.

I celebrate Yule and the winter solstice.