To ask this question, without agenda, because its Christmas!

[Ihavewelliesbutitssunny]

Why do you celebrate Christmas?/What do you celebrate at Christmas?

Yes I know someone does it every year

What Beer said

What beer said

Yep, I guess what Beer said.

Presents!

What a great thread - I can't wait to read everyone's replies. I think quite deeply about this, as an agnostic.

Primarily, I've been brought up with continental festive traditions, so for us Christmas is Weihnachten, we have Heiligabend (Christmas Eve) when we all get together and have a supper served before the Bescherung ("time for exchanging gifts"). This is such a magical time where we're celebrating family and togetherness and having got through another year more than anything.

This is a generalisation, but I also enjoy being part of something that is so inclusive of the wider population. I love things like snowstorms and other freak weather conditions, when it feels like the whole country is united in a shared experience and for me Christmas has an element of that which I love.

I'm also quite sympathetic to Paganism, and I embrace the principles of winter solstice, and our Weihnachten is quite akin to this, celebrating the return of light and getting through the darker months.

Or, more succinctly - what Beer said...

I celebrate the birth of christ. The presents, over eating and chocolate selection box is an added bonus.

Its a combination of midwinter festivals and the Christian appropriation here with a little mix of 'just because I like twinkly lights'.

We dip into many traditions, because they all involve peace and love and hope. We also dip into modern consumerist traditions of present buying and gift giving, getting in touch with old friends even if its just a card, having more nights out than usual and basically enjoying ourselves.

We open our gifts from Santa as soon as we're all awake (stockings), then have breakfast (its about 6am so nothing heavy other than a glass of buck's fizz) then we do the tree presents, the ones from mummy and daddy, family, to and from specific people. Then we just enjoy the morning. At noon we go for a walk ending at our local pub where loads of other families gather for a festive one drink, head home, start dinner, put Christmas films/music on.... in the evening we play board games or family Wii games and once the kids are in bed we watch Its a Wonderful Life, open the Brandy, eat truffles, veg out and probably get a bit squiffy and play with the childrens' toys/Wii games. Bed.

That's about it really.

What Beer said too!

[Pagan smiley]

I should probably give my own answer. As a Christian, ultimately Jesus' his birthday, and also his life and death and all the implications of that. Secondary seeing family and friends who I may not have seen for a while.

Solstice

cantspel I like to think that I would want my friends to eat drink and be merry on my birthday and that Jesus is the same!

I celebrate the birth of Jesus and I do so in the company of family and friends he has given me.

We celebrate the love in our lives that comes from family and friends. I know it should be something we are mindful of 365 days a year, but life tends to get in the way. We're an atheist home so our traditions have grown organically from Christmas being the time of year where people stop their busy lives and think of their loved ones.

Yup, another 'what beer said' here

YANBU to ask

YABU to post an AIBU when that's not the question.

I celebrate because:
it's expected
I like it
December is dark and cold

What cat64 said

Christmas is about Christ - if you celebrate something other than Christmas it is not Christmas is it

Christmas is about the birth of Christ and celebrating that

It wasn't always called Christmas cat.

The celebration at this time of year has been going on for much longer than when the catholic church hijacked it to converted the masses.

Any day could be Christmas couldn't it? But not any day can be winter solstice or midwinter festival

I don't actually mind if Christians celebrate Christmas at this time, but to say that that's all the celebration is about is wrong.

If you ask my kids about our winter celebrations, they won't mention Christ at all.

We celebrate the birth of Christ, and all the love and the happiness and sadness and struggle and sacrifice that went with that. I suppose that it's a time to really, really remember what believing in God actually means. So it's a time for giving, because God gave, and it's a time for being with one's family (and eating loads of turkey and roast potatoes and Quality Street and everything) but also for remembering all those who are suffering and who are alone and doing what one can to alleviate their woes. (Of course, this should happen all year round but Christmas is a good time to teach the children about it. And practice it oneself if one hasn't always remembered/ managed to be as charitable as one should have been over the rest of the year.)

I take your point, but that's just semantics, running. If it makes you happier I'll say I celebrate a "Personal Weihnachten/Solstice/Christmas hybrid that is not actually Christmas in its traditional sense". Bit of a mouthful though.

It's the day we celebrate the birth of Christ.