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Bringing you atheist articles and building active godless communities takes hundreds of hours and resources each month. If you find any joy or stimulation at Atheist Republic, please consider becoming a Supporting Member with a recurring monthly donation of your choosing, between a cup of tea and a good dinner.
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Dandare thanks for sharing your thoughts.
I could say now that I am starting to learn more about atheist and right that there is nothing common, only the not believing aspect.
Now that the holiday season is here, I can feel the Christmas essence in my veins. People doing countdowns, buying gifts and thinking for holiday vacations are very common these days. I must admit that even if I already declared myself as a non-christian, I'm still excited for Christmas celebration. I agree that this tradition is a huge part of my life.
The way I see it, if you are atheist you can still celebrate christmas because of the birth of Jesus, but not the birth of Jesus Christ. There is evidence of a historical Jesus existing, but none supporting the gospel narratives of the Bible.
also I'd like to add religious or not it has just become a time for good will and happy times, so we all just naturally go along with it, pretty much an instinct in most of us by now. ^__^ happy holidays!
I can agree with that and Jesus of Nazareth also said not to call him Christ.
I agree that holidays is holidays no matter what we believed in.
The common knowledge of holidays is that it is celebrations and celebrating it with family and friends, a great bonding opportunities.
One of the origins of the Christmas festival was to celebrate the Winter solstice and the fact that the shortest day had passed and therefore we were on the journey towards Spring.
[
self promotion link removed]CHRISTMAS:
A pagan tree, decorated with pagan ornaments, cut down from the mountain and stood upright in a pagan stand while we sing pagan carols around it and give each other pagan gifts. CHRISTMAS IS NOT, NOR HAS IT EVER BEEN CHRISTIAN. (READ YOUR BIBLE AND DO NOT FOLLOW THE WAYS OF THE HEATHEN).
Jesus commanded that we commemorate his death, not his birth.—Luke 22:19, 20.
Jesus’ apostles and early disciples did not celebrate Christmas. The New Catholic Encyclopedia says that “the Nativity feast was instituted no earlier than 243 [C.E.],” more than a century after the last of the apostles died.
There is no proof that Jesus was born on December 25; his birth date is not recorded in the Bible.
Christmas is “sun worship renamed.”5 They note how ancient Romans celebrated Saturnalia, in honor of Saturn, the god of agriculture, in late December.
Jeremiah10...
2Thus said the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them.
3For the customs of the people are vain: for one cuts a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the ax.
4They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not.
5They are upright as the palm tree, but speak not: they must needs be borne, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither also is it in them to do good.
FOR EASTER:
Love going to the Philippines and watching the idiots flagellate themselves, bleed all over the sidewalks and pretend they are special. It's everything I hate about religion. It reminds be to stay vigilant in my desire to bring the light of day to the dingy candle lit pews of ignorance.
Ask yourself why you celebrate/take part in Halloween? If you ask yourself that then you will know the answer to your question.
If one realises why people celebrate or more specifically recognise the cultural tradition of Halloween or Samhain, one will realise, these are cultural holidays and people don't have to subscribe to the beliefs. People take part in Haloween because it is a tradition.
Every holiday is a human tradition. I celebrate humanity and history of different cultures.
One of the reasons why I think it is better in modern times. is that people can subscribe religious or non-religious connotations with these holidays and be happy. Myself, I enjoy Christmas/winter solstice/saturnalia etc. because I am a culture and history buff. I recognise the historical value of these holidays. I myself don't ascribe any religious connection with them, I like to think of it has the family and community get together and enjoy the end of the year or harvest season and the coming a new one, which is essentially a human tradition around that time of year.
Despite many countries undeniably religious origin, Christmas and Easter have pretty much become secular holidays now. Most people don't go to a mass on Christmas, and Easter is about egg hunts and chocolate rather than Christ for a large majority. Easter and Christmas have gone from been pagan based holidays to Christian holidays and now they are secular holidays. Things change. No hypocrisy there, if that is what you are implying.
I strongly suggest you watch Seth Andrew's - Christmas: Behind the Curtain
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kenbgMjRvlY
The only days I celebrate are Christmas Eve, Christmas and New Years. With the christmas days being about family and new years just to party and go out.
The majority of "Christian" holidays actually never were Christian to begin with, most were Pagan ones that they put in a Christian jacket cause it was pretty difficult to change people's routines when Christianity spread across Europe.
I think the only people who celebrate holidays in a Christian way here are either old people who still go to church on sundays and the very rare sporadic person who's actually deeply religious.
Aside from these holidays I don't celebrate any. Heck with my job I even have to work on half of them (although it is nice to either have a day off or get paid more during them, I won't complain).
To be wholly honest, even while my wife and daughters were alive, we only celebrated the holidays because everybody else did. The only holidays I truly celebrated were the birthdays of my wife and our daughters. They would celebrate my birthday, but I never required it. I always felt my birthday was unimportant compared to my wife and our daughters. We did truly celebrate Fourth of July, Labor Day, Memorial Day, and Verterans' Day. However, all other holidays were just a bunch of crap to us. We only celebrated them because all the Absolutists celebrated them. However, they never held any meaning for us (me and my family) except a reason for family and friends to gather for a feast and partying. Otherwise, those Absolutist holidays had no meaning.
Now that I am without my family, they were killed, and I am nothing more than a cynical old fart who has become as hard-core, hard-assed, hard-nosed, die-hard atheist as any atheist can be. My sole principal in life is to see the complete demise of ALL religion. Alas, that shall not happen in my lifetime. What a shame. Thus, I do not celebrate ANY holidays anymore. NOT ONE. They are all nothing but a bunch of bullshit. Just another day. Ain't no such thing as holidays anymore.
Sorry, went a bit off-topic, but there you have it.
rmfr
if i get the day off, i spend it like just about everyone else i know... celebrating life and liberty
[
self promotion link removed]I rather like a nicely decorated Christmas tree, shining and bright, with presents to open and good family to share the joy with over an eggnog. And, how about Christmas dinner? Almost all the symbols are pagan, going back to the resurrection of the sun god who, having sunk to its lowest deathly point for 2 or 3 days, now begins to rise. The successful return of light and warmth, begun at that moment, was an occasion to light fires and rejoice. I have no problem with the pagan, fun-loving customs that originally celebrated the return of the sun. (Just leave out any human sacrifices!)
As kids we celebrated Easter by dying eggs and munching chocolate Easter Bunnies. And, there was the Easter Egg hunt! It was fun, but I fell off the bandwagon as an adult.
I can't remmbr! * hic!*
HEY! Isere a batheroom in thiss p\asse.
Well, Christmas we do the tree ( and the yard and the house- I like doing the Chrissy lights thing for kids) and the presents and the family dinner. Easter we do the eggs. Halloween, we do the spooky decorations and get trick or treat things ready for the kids who come knocking. All three occasions are much, much older than Christianity.
another five year old topic...
nice
i love to celebrate, attend all of the theist tradition celebrations...hanker for beer, food, ice cream, cakes, specially roasted pork (lechon).
i love meeting old friends, colleagues, co workers, families, and love one... and it doesn't bother me.
who cares? as long as you're enjoying. its fine...
And I never noticed. LOL
This just popped up to the top of the list when I posted.
rmfr
What do you mean how do we celebrate Holidays? We're unaffiliated, we can celebrate any Holiday we want under any denomination. That looks fun, think I'll celebrate it!
According to the Ten Commandments the required holidays are:
1. The Feast of Unleavened Bread in the month of Abib (exodus 34:18, the Third Commandment)
2. The Feast of Weeks, of the firstfruits of the wheat harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering at the year's end (Exodus 34:22, the 6th Commandment).
Then there was the monthly New Moon Festivals.
In Colossians 2:16 (CEB) Paul said you can party if you want to or do nothing = "16 So don’t let anyone judge you about eating or drinking or about a festival, a new moon observance, or sabbaths."
[
self promotion link removed]???? I understand not. Clearly more you need speak English. Need more input.
If this is an invitation to listen to that nutwhack Zakir Naik, then it won't work here. I have already seen quite a few of his videos. My opinion? He is as fruity as they come. He belongs in the proverbial rubber room with the Pollock Dinner Jacket doped into a medically induced coma on Thorazine.
ADMINS: I know we are not supposed to attack people, but Zakir Naik...
rmfr
The Muhammad Ramzan has been banned for repeated self promotion.
"The Muhammad Ramzan has been banned for repeated self promotion."
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Yaaay!
Which is also how I celebrate my hols btw.
Weeeelllllll..... Let me tell ya..... *cackle*... A right-good Thanksgivin' starts withinuh couple (bottles) of Wild Turkey, 'cause evrahbody knows turkeys is truhdishenly fer Thanksgivin', right? Yep. You betchyer sweet ass they are. Heh-heh-heh..... So 'round about noon-ish or so after the first "turkey" has been cunnn-soomed, them blasted in-laws is-uh startin' ta 'rive. Woooooo-weeee...! And that there's when all the fun getsta startin', 'causin that bees when I'un getsta startin' ta werkin' on that-there second "turkey".... *imitated turkey gobble noises*...Yes-sireee, I tell ya! You ain't ne'er seen nuthin' like-it in yer hoooole life!.... *extended cackle*..... Lawdy have mercy! Be-forun the day gits dun, I dun gone an' cursed out my old lady's hi-n-mitey lottie-dottie momma who-un always is-a talkin' 'bout how muchuhva no-good sorry bum I am. An' then I gets good-n-mad an' fit ta-be tarred an' throws out the mashed taters to-un the dawgs outside, but them fool flea-bitten varmits ain't got no sense nohow an' they jess sniffin'-it an' walkin' away. So natcherly I gotta go out yonder and puts my foot in ther asses fer dees-re-spec-ten my old lady's cookin'. She done slaved o'er that stove all day ta make them taters. Them manegee mutts shud be more 'prishative. Yep. Thanksgivin' shore is nice. Corsin', come 'round 'bout time fer Chrisamiss, though, I gen-ruhly like-uns 'bout three of them Wild Turkeys. Yew know, jess ta make thangs mer festive-like. *cackle-cackle-cackle*
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