No because most Thursdays around here come and go without any celebrations or gift giving.
Intended as a response to Interrobang’s!? question. Just got the quote thingy screwed up.
One should never criticize horses. They do the best they can.
Assuming Jesus of Nazareth existed (I am atheist, but I am willing to accept that a very charismatic preacher named Jesus may have existed in the first few years AD; I just don’t accept his divinity) he clearly wasn’t born on December 25 if the rest of the bible stories are to make any sense. However, I think that’s a debate for adults rather than children. Persuading a child that Christ wasn’t born on December 25 seems to me to be a very good way to get him beat up when he starts telling everyone else what he has learned!
If a child had sufficient grasp of the concepts to ask me why as an atheist I celebrate Christmas, I’d simply tell him/her that I consider it a celebration of peace and goodwill, and that does not require that we celebrate any particular person or god. I’d also mention that Christians aren’t the only ones that have midwinter festivals and that those festivals were around long before Jesus was said to have lived.
As to the name Christmas - yes it derives from Christ’s mass, but so what? As people have said about other words in many other threads, meanings of words change. As an atheist I have no concern about calling December 25 Christmas; that is simply the name of the holiday.
Because it’s no fun giving people presents on some other day of the year and getting none back, and the stares when people give you presents and you have none to give them get a bit much? IOW, it’s the day society picked for Present Day, I like presents, so I have to do it on that day (and my birthday). Nothing hypocritical about that. There would be if I went to Xmas Mass, I guess.
Then I’ll give them an hour’s lecture on Christian co-option of various pagan traditions (with PowerPoint), and they’ll be sorry they ever asked.
Hell, my priest gave the “Jesus wasn’t really born on December 25” homily on Christmas Eve one year. Every single person left the church feeling completely bummed out. I mean Christ, that was a fuckup of biblical proportions.
Your posts read, to me, like those of a Christian trying to calling attention to the hypocrisy of being an atheist and celebrating Christmas by posing as an atheist struggling with the concept of explaining their beliefs to a child. I’m not accusing you of anything, but that’s how you appear to me.
If I’m wrong, then I’m genuinely puzzled how you can have the concerns expressed in your OP. As an atheist who celebrates Christmas, I can’t imagine feeling defensive or hypocritical if someone were to point out that Christmas was originally a celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, whom I don’t believe in. Because the holiday as Christmas as it is currently celebrated in the U.S. has almost nothing to do with Jesus, apart from the occasional Nativity display and the fact that Christians celebrate both the Santa and the Jesus aspects. So here’s what I’d tell my kid:
“Although Christmas started out as a purely religious holiday, now it’s mostly a traditional celebration, more about decoration and gift giving than religion. However, if it makes you feel weird to get presents for a holiday that was rooted in religious belief, I’ll be happy not to get you anything from now on.”
Then I’d make them do like a hundred push-ups.
I, sir, do solemnly swear that, to the best of my knowledge, I have never worshipped any god, sentient being, or flying spaghetti monster. Furthermore, I am a card carrying member of the atheist society, with my dues paid in full and up to date.
In the words of David Clayton Thomas “I swear there ain’t no heaven and I pray there ain’t no hell”.
So Mr. Doorman for the Atheist Society of The Straight Dope, can I get in now?
And I’m glad you don’t struggle with the issue in the OP. Bully for you bud! Now that I have heard other opinions on the matter, I consider myself somewhat more enlightened, and will consider them if and when the need arises.
After all, I thought that’s what these boards were for, sharing information through discourse. I for one find it puzzling that you as a moderator, would choose to take such a demeaning tone.
Well, I don’t, personally, have any children, but I was brought up heathen, so maybe I can offer some insight.
We didn’t celebrate christmas because of Jesus…we celebrated it because of Santa. Family togetherness, love, happy tradition, the wonder and joy of the season—the “christian” part was merely the backstory behind it, originally. Just like we celebrated Halloween, without actually believing that we had to scare away the evil spirits roaming the night; or watch the Olympics without the intent of honoring the Greek gods.
Apologies if you found my tone demeaning, it wasn’t intended as such. I was going for something somewhere between puzzled and skeptical. (And my moderator status has nothing to do with my posts in this thread – our official posts are labeled as such, otherwise we’re just like any other members.)
And I’m still a bit surprised that you’re getting so defensive over your atheist credentials being questioned. I didn’t say I knew anything about your beliefs, just that the phrasing of your posts read very oddly to me. Still do, incidentally.
Apology accepted.
Odd writing style aside, I am sincere. I says what I means, and means what I says. Cool?
I’d answer it with honesty : “Well, because we always have done. I see no reason to exclude ourselves from something that most people participate in”
I thought Christmas was when Jesus hops up out of the grave, comes out, and if He sees His shadow, we get six more weeks of winter.
So when did Christmas get all mixed up with religion? 
My kids know better than to ask why they are getting presents. We all enjoy the whole Santa thing, decorating the tree, wrapping presents and all and that’s enough, I think. We even go to church shows sometimes during the holidays. I am confident enough in my beliefs to allow my kids (and myself) to be exposed to differing views. All the more so if those with the differing views are nice people with eggnog and cookies. I have exlained to my kids that atheist does not mean anti-religion.
On the other hand, when they wanted to know why they don’t get Easter baskets, I told them they can get the candy when they start getting up on Sunday morning, dressing nice and going to church. No takers so far.
But what about that Rankin Bass special that established the Easter Bunny was the original Velveteen Rabbit, brought to life by fae magic, and making a pilgrimage to the North Pole to become a disciple of Santa, and then on to become the Easter Rabbit?
Or is that only part of the semiheretical Apocrypha of commercialized heathen doctrine? 
As a closet atheist, I felt a sudden surge of righteousness clicking “Ignore” on Facebook to my cousin’s “Keep Christ in Christmas” invite.