to wonder if perhaps only christians should celebrate christmas?

[gingertabbywithsnowypaws]

what do you think.

i am COE btw

It's not that Christians persist in presenting themselves as miserable grumps, Earthymama. It's that you notice the minority who do.

On this thread alone, more Christians have come out on the side of joyful happy partying with everybody included than on the side of the OP- have you noticed us?

you are being extraordinarily narrow minded and insular.
what we know as Christmas is a mish mash of all sorts of different celebrations, pagan and secular as well as religious. to view it as a solely Christian festival is frankly nonsensical.
to try and exclude others from celebrating their traditions shows a lack of tolerance that I thought had been eradicated from the modern CoE.

i think your making up in your minds stuff i haven t said.

i said all along i dont think
only christians should celebrate christmas
because, i think it can welcome people into the church and teach children about religion etc.

so don't get me wrong, i wouldnt want to exclude other from the celebrations at all.
just interested in others views thats all.

Disingenuous. Title of your thread is AIBU to wonder if perhaps only christians should celebrate christmas? now you deny saying it? My memory's not the best there it is in black and white so to speak

and I'd like to welcome you lot out and teach you about shopping

I'm and atheist. I celebrate by making a good meal, buying presents (not extravagent) and being jolly. Don't see why it should be a Christian only festival.

My view (another Christian here) is Christmas is not an exclusively Christian festival. It never was. We Christians have been helping ourselves to other people's traditions pretty shamelessly over the last two millennia and should recognise that Christmas is not just our festival that we can welcome them into; you could equally well see it the other way round.

Not just about teaching them about Christianity.

We are all comitted antheists and enjoy celebrating Christmas. I don't really consider it a particularly Christian occasion TBH. As others have said it is a winter festival that pre-dates Christianity anyway. It is a rare opportunity to meet up with all the extended family and i use it as an opportunity to teach my children about the importance of family, as well as using the story of the nativity etc to teach them about being kind to each other.

I think you are seeing it from your own point of view only and there are masses of others.

cory if more Christians took your line I'd be tempted!

ninah, a lot of them probably do. but then you might not even know they're Christians.

my family would have kittens if I tried to hi-jack their Christmas.

we are atheist and so are most of our family but we live in a predominantly christian society which provides us with some regular established free time to get everyone together and celebrate being a family etc

don't mind what others do

a Christian you don't know is a Christian except from humanity towards others gets my vote.

As cory says, the vast majority of us Christians are actually nice and inclusive and not miserable and joyless at all - it's just that the stereotype miserable ones are so much more noticeable!

Ginger

"i said all along i dont think
only christians should celebrate christmas
because, i think it can welcome people into the church and teach children about religion etc."

I don't WANT to be welcomed into your church and I don't WANT you to teach my children about religion - after all, you're hardly going to give them a neutral, unbiaised view, are you? I don't want to be anywhere near your, or indeed any other, church. I just want the day off to spend as I choose. Is that such an offensive concept to you?

man not offensive at all, sorry if i have given you the wrong impression

I think that if churches make a particular effort to be welcoming and friendly because it is Christmas, then that's a good thing, as there are people who have some interest in Christianity and Christmas makes them think a bit more about it. But if people aren't interested in it as a religious occasion, then that's fine too, and totally up to them which elements they choose to celebrate and what they want to call it.

I'm atheist and i celebrate a combination of midwinter and new year i call it 'christmas' simply because it is when we get off work and it's the norm in our society but i wouldn't care too hoots if instead of being off work on 25th and 26th december and 1st and 2nd january we were all off on midwinters day instead or had all four days at hogmanay.

"The roots of Hogmanay perhaps reach back to the celebration of the winter solstice among the Norse, as well as incorporating customs from the Gaelic New Year's celebration of Samhain. In Europe, winter solstice evolved into the ancient celebration of Saturnalia, a great Roman winter festival, where people celebrated completely free of restraint and inhibition. The Vikings celebrated Yule, which later contributed to the Twelve Days of Christmas, or the "Daft Days" as they were sometimes called in Scotland. The winter festival went underground with the Protestant Reformation and ensuing years, but re-emerged near the end of the 17th century."

ninah - agreed!

as a catholic i have no problem with people of any denomination celebrating christmas. it does irk me if they try to force others to de-religionise it though, especially as i'm in a traditionally catholic country.

as with most other things in life i'm of the opinion of if you're not harming or interfering with anyone else, knock yourself out.

As another Catholic I don't celebrate Christmas as a religous thing neither would I enforce it on non Catholics.

The only thing I do that's religous at Christmas is go to Midnight mass (sometimes a little tipsy) But even this year I am not doing that.

Christmas is about being with your family and Children Turkey shopping old great films on the TV the queens speech eastenders bored games, Dr who speical and seeing people you don't really like but put a great big smile on ya face and wish them a happy christmas.

and its not Christmas until the coca cola advert comes on the TV

LOL Pinging- Dh was complaining about the absence of that also.

I am a Christian; DH is Agnostic. We rub along quite happily becuase we share the same values- if not the same faith. family, kindness, honesty, love and our marriage are things we both hold in high regard and at Christmas we celebrate those. I believe we were given them, he thinks otrherwise, doesn't matter- we both celebrate and enjjoy them regardless.

Thats what its about Peachy I do love a good navity play at the school not many of them do it anymore through. But its a time to celebrate everything in the last year appreciate your family and kick back.

I have just found out that my DS's nursery are doing a nativity play next week . I will just have to watch.
Mind you I am rather softening towards the concept of nativity plays as a kind of quaint English tradition like the Eton/Windsor boat race. Or the January sales.