Christmas is for atheists too

I love Christmas, and I am an atheist.

I have been told more than once by an angry christian that I have no right to celebrate Christmas. They then proceed to tell me that Christmas is about celebrating the birth of Jesus and unless I am a christian, I have no place enjoying the holiday. How I respond depends on the kind of day that I am having but if it is not a good day, they usually leave silent and chastised.

Christmas does not originate from Christianity, in fact, it was celebrated before Christianity was invented. It is a remodelled pagan festival thanks to the conversion of Roman Emperor Constantine's mother. Rather than introduce a new celebration, he took an existing festival and declared it the birth of Jesus. It caught on and with several additions, Christmas trees due to Queen Victoria's husband and German tradition and a bearded, red cloacked Santa as a result of a Coca Cola advert, persists to this day.

Then there's the little matter of the date of birth of Jesus. For the sake of argument, I will put aside ALL my misgivings about Jesus and the Bible. Taking the nativity story in the 4 gospels, Jesus was propably born in August or September. One cannot be sure which month or which date, but we can be sure there is no chance that it was December. None. Nada.

I love Christmas because it is a time to be with my children. They are growing up and quite rightly building their own lives, and Christmas is a day they come together. I enjoy Christmas because it is a time to think of others. Buying appropriate presents is not easy and takes time and thought. I like that. Not unimportant, I like Christmas because it is a day to do nothing but eat, drink, and enjoy others company. In our house, the entire day in pyjamas is fine. I appreciate Christmas for a lot of reasons.

If you want to take Christmas as an opportunity to celebrate an aspect of your religion, feel free, but do not try to tell me that it is the exclusive property of your faith. So Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays to everyone, whichever you prefer, and whatever you celebrate.