Hooray for Dawkins.Though there are very few atheists that don't celebrate Christmas. Christmas was celebrated long before the babyjesuschrist is supposed to have popped out of the immaculate womb.
Romans soldiers celebrated the birth of a chap called Mithras on the 25th, and the whole lot of them partied on down around that date, even if they didn't dig the Mithras. Pagans have been putting up tree decorations, mucking about with Yule logs and admiring spirits that distributed gifts to all overnight, and all without a nod or a wink towards the chap with the perforated hands.
Merry christmas!
(Romans soldiers celebrated the birth of a chap called Mithras on the 25th, and the whole lot of them partied on down around that date, even if they didn't dig the Mithras. Pagans have been putting up tree decorations, mucking about with Yule logs and admiring spirits that distributed gifts to all overnight, and all without a nod or a wink towards the chap with the perforated hands.
Merry christmas!
wheelybird mreee!,
Thu 16 Dec 2010, 11:58,
archived)
Christmas was moved from the actual birthday so that the Catholic church could more easily convert the paganstruefact that
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Thu 16 Dec 2010, 16:08,
archived)
Erm... paganism isn't atheism, and is neither big nor clever.Attributing significance to logs, spirits, Mithras, or to any particular date is still hinting at some sort of belief in the supernatural, and just as silly as worshipping a probably fictional bloke with metacarpal ventilation. Just because a tradition's older doesn't make it cooler or more sensible.
I s'pose the most honest. po-faced, atheistic thing to do would be to get pissed and have fun simply because the solstice means winter is more or less half-over (presumably one thinks winter is a bad thing).
Or if you like winter, maybe a hoe-down because it's only half-begun. But no worshipping or veneration of anything, ta very much.
I'd much prefer to wish people a Merry Hitch-mas. I love him. Dawkins is a nob.
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Fri 17 Dec 2010, 22:07,
archived)
I s'pose the most honest. po-faced, atheistic thing to do would be to get pissed and have fun simply because the solstice means winter is more or less half-over (presumably one thinks winter is a bad thing).
Or if you like winter, maybe a hoe-down because it's only half-begun. But no worshipping or veneration of anything, ta very much.
I'd much prefer to wish people a Merry Hitch-mas. I love him. Dawkins is a nob.