thread: Christmas: non-Christians and atheists...Do you 'celebrate'?

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  1. #1
    Registered User

    Jun 2007
    Dandenong Ranges, Melbourne.
    5,673

    absolutely! we love the whole santa thing, and the food and the presents and the tree. i agree with PP that it is a great time to appreciate and catch up with family.

  2. #2
    BellyBelly Life Subscriber

    Jan 2006
    11,633

    Christmas has always been family time for us. When we were kids we did presents & tree etc. then just family time with lots of food. now we're back to tree etc & presents for the kids. No Santa here because we are obviously total killjoys and want our kids to grow up like justin beiber.

    it's not like it's a traditional christian holiday anyway, you know.... they just adopted it.

  3. #3
    Registered User

    Nov 2010
    Cairns
    681

    We go for the family aspect, tree, presents, santa and lunch with loved ones. It works for us.

  4. #4
    2011 BellyBelly RAK Recipient.

    Feb 2010
    Cambodia
    531

    I've been thinking about this quite a bit recently, with Christmas coming up and everything. I have to say I am a bit confused as to what Christmas will be like in my house. It's just my son and I, and I'm not particularly fussed about it. I am not Christian, but my family did the Santa tradition growing up.. presents, lots of food and big get-togethers etc. But now I'm living in a small town, my only relative here is my mum. (the rest of my family are all interstate). I've been trying to think of ways to make Christmas day a bit different to normal, but that's where I get stuck! I am really struggling to find any meaning in it at all for me as a non-believer. To give gifts for no reason seems a bit extravagant when I am not celebrating anything. Don't get me wrong, I love to be generous but to do it just to follow the crowd makes me feel a bit weird. That said though I do have some gifts to give my son, but they are small and mainly hand made by me. I have sent charity gifts to the rest of my family (goats, chickens etc) as I just can't justify buying 'stuff' that people don't need. Mum is coming around for lunch, but apart from that, I don't know how the day will be any different from any other days.

    As for the Santa thing, I won't be doing that with DS. I won't lie to him, I plan on telling him that Santa is a character. I know that will be difficult with all the outside influences (even a lady at the shops told him Santa is coming!), but he will know the gifts come from me. As he will be spending a fair bit of time in Africa growing up I don't want him to question why Santa only comes to the white kids when he sees the African kids miss out. Also, I don't want him to be ridiculed when we are there for believing in a red suited man who comes down chimneys!

  5. #5
    Registered User

    Apr 2008
    Melbourne
    6,745

    Raised by atheist parents and athiest myself, we do family, tree, cards, presents etc. It is a cultural thing for us.

  6. #6
    Registered User

    Mar 2009
    2,269

    My parents are not religious and neither are we but we always had the big family get together and that continues now! Tree, lights, lots of food, santa and presents. Heading over later today to sleep over at my parents even though they only live 15minutes down the road it is always tradition for the whole family to wake up together haha, excited