The few Muslims I've asked about this all say they do not celebrate Christmas, yet I'm an atheist and still celebrate it as a secular holiday, as I'm sure do most here - winter solstice and all that. Communication breakdown or...what?

It's rational for all kinds of people (religious or otherwise) not to celebrate christmas.

(December 23, 2020 at 8:10 am)Lawz Wrote: The few Muslims I've asked about this all say they do not celebrate Christmas, yet I'm an atheist and still celebrate it as a secular holiday, as I'm sure do most here - winter solstice and all that. Communication breakdown or...what?

Do you celebrate Ramadan? Rosh Hashanah? Diwali? If not, does that make you irrational?

Boru

(December 23, 2020 at 8:30 am)BrianSoddingBoru4 Wrote:

(December 23, 2020 at 8:10 am)Lawz Wrote: The few Muslims I've asked about this all say they do not celebrate Christmas, yet I'm an atheist and still celebrate it as a secular holiday, as I'm sure do most here - winter solstice and all that. Communication breakdown or...what?

Do you celebrate Ramadan? Rosh Hashanah? Diwali? If not, does that make you irrational?

Boru

If I lived in a country where those holidays were celebrated by virtually the whole country, atheist and christian/muslim/jew/hindu/sikh alike, then yes, I imagine I would.

To me - xmas is just a fucked up day when everything is closed - preceeded by a month or two of bad music and inflatable displays put up by twats who want some enforced frivolity.

Celebrate THAT....

(December 23, 2020 at 8:10 am)Lawz Wrote: I'm an atheist and still celebrate it as a secular holiday

When you say "celebrate it," what does this consist of? Just taking the day off? Giving presents? I assume you don't do any of the church stuff. Does your family do something special?

Here in Japan Christmas is barely noticed. For some reason there is a special kind of cake people eat for Christmas, and they're surprised that it's not an American custom. Also it's normal when you're dating to get an expensive hotel room and get laid on Christmas eve. Back when I was dating this was something to celebrate. 

New Year's is the big holiday here, and I "celebrate" it if that means staying home with family, like everybody else does. I mean, if people's work schedule shifts to align with everybody else, then you observe the holiday, I guess. But that's not quite the same as "celebrating." 

If it's a big enough deal where you are, you kind of have to include it in your life, at least a little.

(December 23, 2020 at 9:11 am)Belacqua Wrote:

(December 23, 2020 at 8:10 am)Lawz Wrote: I'm an atheist and still celebrate it as a secular holiday

When you say "celebrate it," what does this consist of? Just taking the day off? Giving presents? I assume you don't do any of the church stuff. Does your family do something special?

Here in Japan Christmas is barely noticed. For some reason there is a special kind of cake people eat for Christmas, and they're surprised that it's not an American custom. Also it's normal when you're dating to get an expensive hotel room and get laid on Christmas eve. Back when I was dating this was something to celebrate. 

New Year's is the big holiday here, and I "celebrate" it if that means staying home with family, like everybody else does. I mean, if people's work schedule shifts to align with everybody else, then you observe the holiday, I guess. But that's not quite the same as "celebrating." 

If it's a big enough deal where you are, you kind of have to include it in your life, at least a little.

"Celebrate" seems the more appropriate term than "observe" imo because the latter has no implication of fun/pleasure type stuff - quite the opposite. Our usual (non-covid) xmas involves enormous turkey roast, preceded by bacon and eggs for breakfast and smoked salmon + cream cheese blinis for 11 O'Clock ish snack with Carva. Crackers with lunch (large family gathering of multiple generations) then gift exchanges after lunch. Roast beef on boxing day....yup, a big deal, basically, and not so much as a whiff of religion.

I gather from the film "Silence" that Christianity was not, erm, "well received" in Japan, back in the day, so probs never took root and never underwent the "post religion transformation" into Santa's walletfest current prevalent incarnation. New years eve here is never as celebrated as Xmas I guess....everyone's partied out from Xmas I guess.

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ETA: here's a still from "Silence" - "refuse to renounce you Christianity? We've got a fix for that" type shenanigans.

(December 23, 2020 at 8:10 am)Lawz Wrote: The few Muslims I've asked about this all say they do not celebrate Christmas, yet I'm an atheist and still celebrate it as a secular holiday, as I'm sure do most here - winter solstice and all that. Communication breakdown or...what?

I am quite sure you can find non conservative Muslims, just like atheists, that like getting together in the winter with family in America.

That is why we call it "holidays", because people celebrate this time of year in different ways even on different days. 

BUT this year, regardless of which cold day between November and New Years you want to be with family, be it to worship candles, a magic baby, an African American religion, or like some atheists do, the Solstice, the CDC is screaming to everyone, STAY THE FUCK HOME THIS YEAR. Because of COVID.

But are Americans listening? NOPE. Triple A is estimating 84 million Americans will travel between the 24th and January 3rd.

I don't care if one celebrates Christmas thinking it is about a magic baby. I don't care if someone lights candles on a Menorah, or Kwanza, or celebrate Ramadan. If you are like me, you order Chinese food and watch sports any day of the week.

I get the socializing aspect of it. But the truth is, no matter what religion humans believe, or invent, no matter what nations do this or that, friend or foe, nothing lasts forever, not even religions or nations. So instead of fighting over how one day should be spent, lets just leave it up to the individual, and value spending time with family and friends, not just on holidays, but every day.

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(December 23, 2020 at 4:44 pm)brewer Wrote:

I forgot about this. I love this.

Back in the late 90s, I worked at a old folks mom and pop radio station. Every year from Thanksgiving to New Years I'd have to do either 3 or 6 hour live shifts playing Christmas Music. My manager kept nudging me to play more religious themed songs, I hated that shit. I played more Rudolph and Santa Baby. 

Anywho, there was a Christmas multi CD collection, with all the secular and religious songs, but it had a few comic songs two. Everyone knows "Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer". But it also had this. Needless to say, I was forbidden to play it.

(December 23, 2020 at 8:10 am)Lawz Wrote: The few Muslims I've asked about this all say they do not celebrate Christmas, yet I'm an atheist and still celebrate it as a secular holiday, as I'm sure do most here - winter solstice and all that. Communication breakdown or...what?

 
why should they? there is nothing christ-like about christmas. it was a pagan holiday called yule.
christians just copied it and put jesus in the mix...