Christmas--nonbelievers

It's my son's birthday. So that is what we celebrate. He used to be so excited to know how many people celebrated his birthday. Now he knows that other people celebrate a holiday, Christmas on the same day. He also know children who celebrate Dwaali (sp?), Hanukkah (us), winter festivals and other holidays. He knows he has friends who believe in Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny (he is 5-1/2). Last year he told me - he was going to go on letting his friends believe in them because it made them happy LOL.

The Holidadys season is a time to year to revel in celebration of family and friends while sharing presents of anything just to show and say YOU CARE.

in fact it is the only time of year where you can gift to another just because it's Christmas
or the time when Kris Kringle decided that he can share his toys with children openly for only 1 day of the year---so he gifts his toys in joy and this tradition has been followed by parents all over the world----1 day a year offer a gift to another just for the joy of such!

Well, Saint Nicholas was a real person, and his story is the explanation of why (well one of them anyway) we exchange gifts (especially for children) at Christmas time. Perhaps if you google it and learn the whole story, then THAT'S what you can tell your kids!

:)

It can be whatever you want for your family. Look around, it is not just about Christ's birth. There are so many beliefs, traditions and ways to celebrate. It is really up to what you and your husband feel comfortable with and that's a great thing.

Focus on Santa and the concept of giving.

As Jen C. describes, Yule was celebrated long before christians usurped most Yule traditions. I would recommend doing some reading about Yule traditions (they will look VERY familiar) and incorporate whatever makes sense for your family.

We celebrate our family, our blessings, and the "return of the sun" at the darkest time of year which is the Winter Solstice.

My daughter has friends and relatives who are Christian, Jewish, and Muslim, so is exposed to a lot of different traditions at all holidays.

I've known many people who do not believe in God, and still celebrate the spirit of Christmas. Charity, compassion, Santa, etc. I had a friend growing up, whose family didn't really believe in anything. They still had a lot of fun with Christmas! They just made it about the original spirit of St. Nicholas. They made it a holiday about family, and being charitable to those less fortunate,

Also, it IS called Christmas. Whether you believe in God, or not...I still find it really silly to spell it xmas. It's what the holiday is called. I mean, I don't believe in Valentine's day and I don't call it x-tines day.

My husband doesn't believe in God...he focuses on time with family and friends and giving.

For our family, Christmas is about spending time with the ones we love (friends and family), and about giving to others and showing love. My kids understand the religious aspect as I have explained it to them and we have lots of holiday books (both religious and secular) that I pull out in December and we read through the month. We are not a religious family, so I basically tell me kids, "Some people believe (insert explanation of Christianity and why Christmas is celebrated), I celebrate Christmas by doing nice things for others like buying gifts, making treats, giving service, and spending fun time with my loved ones". This works nicely for us because while I am agnostic, I want my kids to be able to choose their own beliefs.

My husband and I are also nonbelievers and I treat Christmas as a family holiday. Of course there is the traditional gift giving for our daughter but as far as the adults I would be so happy to not have to give/receive gifts at Christmas - that to me is what takes the fun out of it and just adds stress - not the religion part. I dont think you have to stress over what to teach/explain to your kids what it is about - just go about your business and let the family gatherings be what they are - if, when your kids are older and they ask expalin it to them then and if you arent sure yourself what the whole religion side of it is then you will have the opportunity to learn something new with your kids

Being agnostic, I just say Christmas is a day every year where you share and give things with the ones you love. I honestly even have issues with the whole Santa Claus thing, because to me that is about as ridiculous and absurd as the virgin birth. But they are kids, and I'll play along on Santa---- for now... :)

Christmas is a time when we celebrate life, family and togetherness. It is a bright light that gets us thru the dark cold winter months.......
Research the Winter Solstice for more ideas. Their are many that believe this is why we celebrate Christ's birth in December - it was easier to convert Pagans because they were already celebrating then.......

I celebrate Yule, which is the Winter Solstice.

But if you want a Christmas with NO trappings from any religion, just do what I did when I was an atheist - celebrate it as a time to stop and make a deliberate gesture of love to those nearest and dearest to you, just because you love them.

I think it is difficult to avoid Christmas entirely given that its arrival and celebration is so ubiquitous in our culture- Christmas is everywhere- in decorations, lights, shopping sales, time off work and school, movies and TV shows, music, etc etc. While I think it is possible not to "celebrate" the actual holiday in the birth of Christ sense, it would be difficult to just pretend it is any other day. I was raised Jewish and my family did not celebrate Christmas or have a tree or anything like that but it was always a very special day to spend as a family. We did things we enjoyed and appreciated having a day set aside like that where stores were not open (mostly) and you really had to spend the time together, no errands or other obligations.
I am now married to a man who was not raised religious but his family always celebrated Christmas. We have done Christmas with them the past several years and I dont have any problem with that. As my kids get older I just hope to explain to them that Christmas is a holiday where many people celebrate the birth of Christ but other people just celebrate being together as a family, exchanging gifts, whatever. Our culture has made it necessary for everyone to acknowledge Christmas but that is not necessarily a bad thing. I think it is ok to explain that without making too much of it and just enjoy the season and day in whatever way is special for your family.

If you don't believe in God, Christmas has no meaning. It is the celebration of the birth of Christ, the Son of God.

I suppose you can have fun with the gift giving, entertaining, and social aspects of it. You could possibly do some good by getting outside of yourself and giving of yourself to others at this time, but don't expect it, or any other fundamentally religious holiday to have any "meaning."

Christians have a saying that God is Love. I don't believe in God but I believe in Love. Christmas for my family is about love for one another and for humanity which is why we give gifts and donate to charity. Peace on earth and good will toward man are admirable goals and needn't be connected to religion.

There's nothing that says you have to celebrate "Christmas"...where I live, the gift giving corresponding to St. Nicolas has nothing to do with Christmas. Christmas is strictly the religious holiday and does not involve gift giving...it is a time to go to church and celebrate the birth of Christ. The St. Nicolas holiday takes place on December 5th here, but you could to it at "christmas" time without calling it "Christmas". I'm with the others, that you don't want to celebrate "Christmas" if you don't believe in Christ, HOWEVER, when you have children, you can't very well gloss over the whole thing when all the other kids in their classes at school are getting gifts and most of them probably aren't really religious either. So I would just separate the 2 and celebrate only the St. Nick side of it, if that makes sense.