Why do atheists buy Christmas trees and gifts for their children?
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Why do you assume that "they" (whoever you are referring to), are atheists? If they were, why do you assume that it's a cultural rebellion statement? It's not because they don't believe in imaginary beings that they cannot enjoy stories or parties or gatherings or gifts. There are Christians who believe that Christmas is pagan. They would avoid it because of a taboo. Atheists don't need those taboos. Atheists don't need to be told how to think and what to do, they can take the responsibility for their own actions. If your assumption is that they don't have children or don't like their children, that's also bigoted nonsense. In any case, you cannot reappropriate the event exclusively to yourself...
Because 1) I have strong childhood nostalgic memories about curling up at the base of our Christmas tree, watching the lights twinkle, and eventually falling asleep and 2) I enjoy giving things to people.
Whereas Kevin “spent the better part of a decade traipsing around the NZ countryside with my tits out” Sorbo only does anything because he's either being bribed with promises of post-mortem paradise, or extorted with threats of post-mortem punishment.
Well, I’m an atheist, and I’ve never once bought a Christmas tree, and I’ve never bought gifts for my children. That would be somewhat difficult, due to them having a slight case of not existing. I do certainly participate in Christmas festivities with various family members, and even buy them gifts. Like was already said, it’s as much of a secular holiday as a religious one these days, like it or not.
I don’t celebrate Christmas. Haven’t for a long time, anyway. I might have a low-key gathering of a few friends on the nearest weekend to Winter Solstice sometimes, but for me, the big celebration is New Year’s Eve. When I did celebrate Christmas it was because it was a cultural expectation (also I liked presents when I was a kid) but it didn’t have any deliberate religious undertones that I noticed. Just because something has a religious origin or influence doesn’t necessarily make it purely religious today.
Though really this is just some clumsy and idiotic “gotcha”. It’s no different than asking “why do atheists say ‘oh god’ during sex?” It’s meant to imply that the reason why atheists don’t disengage with everything even vaguely associated with Christianity is because they’re hypocrites who, deep down, they don’t *really* disbelieve any of it. Of course that’s not how atheists work.
Because despite attempts to lay claim to Christmas as somehow inherently Christian it decidedly isn’t and your cultural posturing isn’t the meaning of Christmas. You’re the one fighting a war on Christmas, chucklefuck, you don’t want anyone else celebrating if it doesn’t explicitly affirm your belief you are the rightful inheritor of all that is good in the world and arbiter of who deserves to share in it.
Winter Solstice.
Why do you celebrate a stolen Pagan holiday, Kevin Sorearse…?!
That jolly red & white-suited man you also allow to exist in your stolen culture at this time of year: when before 1931 he was always portrayed wearing either yellow & white or green & white, the artist Haddon Sundblom was commissioned by a certain - and extremely powerful, culture-wise - company to portray the same in their corporate colours: otherwise you wouldn’t allow such to exist in that stolen culture of yours today.
Coca-Cola say ’You’re Welcome’, OP.
Confused?
So were we! You can find all of this, and more, on Fundies Say the Darndest Things!
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