Why Do People Celebrate Christmas If They Don't Believe In Christ?

[lindatucker]

  I think some people celebrate Christmas because they see other people doing it. But they probably don't have no idea the word Christmas has Christ in it. I think that's why people have started saying happy Holidays instead of Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

[catwell2]

I'm not a very religious person, but I still celebrate Christmas. It's been a tradition that I've grown up with and to me, it's about spending time with the family and friends that I love and sharing food, laughter and gifts.

[raven1114]

We celebrate Christmas mainly because it's family tradition however we also celebrate Saturnalia ( a Roman pagan holiday) for the more religious aspect of the holiday. For Saturnalia the kids get to open one gift each day for seven days. We also bake a different treat each day. One day may be cookies, another will be fudge, brownies on another and so on. We then give the treats we baked as gifts to family and friends for Christmas since that is the holiday most of them celebrate.

[falcon9]

We celebrate Christmas mainly because it's family tradition however we also celebrate Saturnalia ( a Roman pagan holiday) for the more religious aspect of the holiday. For Saturnalia the kids get to open one gift each day for seven days. We also bake a different treat each day. One day may be cookies, another will be fudge, brownies on another and so on. We then give the treats we baked as gifts to family and friends for Christmas since that is the holiday most of them celebrate.

Ah, a 'modified' Saturnalia celebration, (as opposed to the original Brumalia which consisted of drunken debauchery, gambling and sacrifices)?  I'm not clear on the "religious aspect" of that one however, we've gone back to honoring the concept of solstice around the 21st.

[ejholt]

That is a question I wish someone would answer.  The whole world celebrates Christmas but alot of people don't believe in Christ or are Christians.  I am a Christian and I celebrate Christmas with my family.  Jesus is the reason for the season.   I know a lot of people that don't Celebrate Christmas.  I don't know why they feel that way.  Christmas is honoring Christ and that he was born to save the world.  May God bless each of you and have a safe day.

[sdecaro558]

Because it's become more of a secular holiday than a religious one.  Even those who are Christians and celebrate it rarely focus on the true meaning.

[ancmetro]

   
            Because they are celebrating their own birth!

[webmasterdn]

I think they celebrated because it's a holiday, and most holidays you receive gifts, and food lol.

[ptfunds]

Just a little detail on the word Christmas.  The word "Christmas" occurs nowhere in the Bible. It is an old English word that means "Christ's Mass" which refers to the celebration of the Lord's Supper, i.e. the Mass. The earliest occurrence of the word on record is 1038 A.D. Christians at this time considered the Mass (Lord's Supper) to be the most important part of the celebration of Christ's birth, hence it came to be called Christmas.

Many people are celebrating other holidays during the season such as Solstice, Hanukkah, and Kwanza.  There are other holidays celebrated during this time as well.  I know it is a surprise to many people who think the holiday time is only about Christmas. Two of the aforementioned holidays were around thousands of years before Christmas. Hanukkah was first celebrate in 164 BCE  and in the case of Winter Solstice prehistoric times (Massive prehistoric monuments such as Ireland's mysterious Newgrange tomb are aligned to capture the light at the moment of the winter solstice sunrise).

[Tresbn00]

I think that a large percentage of the people ebrace the holiday from a materialistic perspective.  In Wisconsin we celebrated every obscure holiday unmercilessly as a means of escaping the dreariness of over-cast skies for more than average periods of time.  My family, now in Colorado, tries to celebrate every holiday that we can find as a means of enjoying another branch of life and another day of living.  Many people pretend that they believe in Christ and try to support it by saying that their attendance at church proves it yet they don't live the tennents of the Lord's words on a day-to-day basis.

[j1arias]

Probably because of the presents they receive? I don't even know

[lucy1991]

It's because those who don't believe in Christ or Christmas just want to feel like being a part of something, they like to receive gift as well as giving gifts and it's becoming a social norm for most people to celebrate it because some people jus aren't are believers in their religion but there's jus some out there who jus want to celebrate it seeing it as an eventful tradition to do and gather up with family and friends and jus enjoy. Also a great excuse for parties.

[footemama]

I am also of the opinion that Christmas has become more of a secular holiday revolving around family and togetherness and being appreciative of what you have and helping others that maybe don't have as much.

I don't think Jesus would mind so many people the world over taking this time to be giving and loving and helping others regardless of whether or not they practice one religion or another. I think the spirit behind the celebrations is what ultimately counts.

[acurtsinger2]

the wise men cared very much for the little baby jesus who was born and brought him gifts to show their love and respect, thats why we give gifts at christmas

[premar16]

If you look at the history behind the rituals of christmas such as a tree,gifts ,wreaths and so on you will find that those practices were around before the birth of jesus and are many peoples cultures.Also historically there are many people who are not sure if jesus was born in december.There are many mythical characters and deities who share the same birthday that people celebrate.Also over time Christmas has come to mean the comming together of family and I seee no problem if people want to come together with love and enjoy what life has given and give to others in the same spirit