The World's Largest Coalition of Nontheists and Nontheist Communities!

Christmas(yawn)

walking around the supermarket I see people I know all the time, this is because I live in a very small town down on the coast in Victoria (Australia). Every second person I see asks me what I am doing to celebrate Christmas, I say that I am an Atheist and I do not believe in the story of nativity. I am greeted so many blank stares and negative comments that I feel like I am a party pooper, I then go on to explain that I have a deep love for the nature of the world we live in and that I believe humans should be nice to each other everyday, not just when some Theological figure was born out of a very dubious conception.

During Christmas I do none of the below-

Wrap presents.(I have to buy presents as I would feel bad just receiving them!)
Sing carols.
Say grace.(I dont do that at anytime, as I do not need to thank any god for my dinner)
Pray.

I find Christmas extremely materialistic, very wasteful and very fake. To me it is a commercial venture coupled with religious babble. A lot of people celebrate this cult event even though they do not believe in the Bible.....what are your thought on this? Do you feel you celebrate this event like I do because you feel you would be alone? Does anyone have to drive a total of 9 hours just to eat a foul with people who bore the crap out of you?

0 members like this

< Previous Post

Comment

You need to be a member of Atheist Nexus to add comments!

Join Atheist Nexus

Comment by Ben Anderson on December 21, 2012 at 6:20pm: Yes, the gift thing always gets me. Why can't the human race be nice to each other everyday? Instead of that one day a year where you have to be nice to that uncle who is condescending to you and that great aunt who just whinges all the time!

Comment by Randall Smith on December 20, 2012 at 8:12am: I'm with you, Ben! Although I do put out a few candles and such, just to prove I'm not a total scrooge. And, I'm also hosting our family gathering--just to eat, no gifts allowed!

Comment by Ben Anderson on December 20, 2012 at 3:10am: Wow sounds like im moving to Serbia! Its great that you keep religion separate. In Australia it does feel very fake, as an atheist its just too warm to think about santa and the three wise men!

Comment by Bianka Bee on December 20, 2012 at 12:25am: I grew up in Serbia and over there christmas and santa/presents are celebrated completely separately. christmas (which is celebrated jan 7th if you're ortodox christian) is strictly religious, people go to church, pray, etc., and then on new years "santa" comes and there are parties and presents and tree decorations etc. i really like that because i love the whole christmas feel and season the fun movies, music, decorations, gifts, all of that. Seeing how we're the minority as atheists i think we have to learn to just go with the flow and live in the world we live in! i think i would drive myself crazy if i let every religious comment bother or offend me!

Comment by Future on December 18, 2012 at 11:41am: I like to see my family, most of them anyways. However, the 7 hr. drive sucks, and the number of kids means I can forget about watching tv, reading or even hearing myself think. I don't need any more stuff, and neither do my relatives, so they just ask for gift cards. I think that sucks - imo, the event would be much better if we were restricted to giving gag gifts ... to comemorate the gag that Christianity is playing on the world. My brother and I already do this to some extent.

Comment by Dave Godfrey on December 18, 2012 at 10:35am: As an atheist, shouldn't you be embracing the materialistic aspect? Personally, I don't care about either the religious or the commercial sides of the holiday. I just enjoy the break from work, getting together with family, and sharing presents. I don't consider the background - Christian, Pagan, Roman or modern - at all. Just relax and go with the flow.

Comment by Vicky Geez on December 18, 2012 at 5:08am: I am Atheist, but I celebrate Christmas mostly for my kids. I don't preach the bible at all. I do put up lights and a tree, I think the visual displays and colors bring happiness to many people. I think of Christmas and any other holiday i.e. Easter, and Thanksgiving (I live in the USA) are all great opportunities for families to get together when we hardly have time anymore because everyone's busy hectic schedules. It's sad to admit that if it weren't for these holidays, most families would be completely detached. So, really I celebrate Christmas as family bonding time, and happily embrace it's coming.