Filthy atheists stealing our Christmas

Turtwig

Sarky wrote: »

I like that pronunciation. Sounds sexy, hints of ninjas and explosions. But then again I view everything to do with winter festivities through the lens of Die Hard.

:pac:

Piliger

davidfitz22 wrote: »

I am an atheist and Chrimbo doesn't bother me, in fact I enjoy it for what it is not for what it represents, a holiday with nice food and gifts. good tv and chocolate...roll on Christmas I say.

I agree 100%. Catholics stole Christmas ... so I steal it back. It's a season of goodwill and the best holiday of the year and a time for being with friends and giving a nice present to people that matter.

Atheists have no need to change the name or deny the event. No need at all imho.

ScumLord

I was only thinking about Christmas the other day and how it's really just a great example of humans making the best of a bad situation for probably the last 10,000 years.

It's the hardest time of the year for any living thing and while every other living creature see's it as a tribulation they have to survive through, we've always turned it into a magical time of year that we enjoy even in the face of adversity.

It is very much a human holiday, it's a time of year that every human celebrates regardless of religion or location, the height of winter comes at different times but it seems the reaction is always the same from people. It's basically along the lines of "in your face nature!"

Christmas is just the current label we've put on that event.

Piliger

ScumLord wrote: »

Christmas is just the current label we've put on that event.

Yep. Jeez if we didn't have Christmas in the middle of bleak winter I think we would got nuts. It's also so much better than summer holidays. People do too much in summer. The day they get off work they head off on trips .. and then back to work on return. At Christmas most people just chill and visit each other and party.

Us Atheists should chill with the Christmas thing and just sidetrack it away from its religious nonsense for your own pleasure

Brian Shanahan

Piliger wrote: »

Yep. Jeez if we didn't have Christmas in the middle of bleak winter I think we would got nuts.

Or turn Finnish.

Hotblack Desiato

Jernal wrote: »

Although I do it through [latex]LaTeX[/latex]

Most people say they'd enjoy it more not doing it through latex, but you can't be too careful these days eh.

Bannasidhe

ninja900 wrote: »

Most people say they'd enjoy it more not doing it through latex, but you can't be too careful these days eh.

Wear latex too often and it can cause allergies.

J C

ninja900 wrote: »

It's no harm - increasingly disordered states are thermodynamically inevitable.

Quite true ... and that's what makes the Flying Spaghetti Monster such a poor rival concept to God.

J C

Yellow121 wrote: »

I don't believe in jesus but I celebrate Christmas. It is a bit hypocritical if we're being honest.

I don't think it is hypocritical to celebrate with other people ... even if you don't share their beliefs.

lazygal

J C wrote: »

Quite true ... and that's what makes the Flying Spaghetti Monster such a poor rival concept to God.

Meh. They're both fictional characters.

J C

Bannasidhe wrote: »

Mother says I am not the Messiah - I am a very naughty girl.

... and are you actually?:):eek:

Bannasidhe wrote: »

Wear latex too often and it can cause allergies.

Your secret is safe with me!!!;)

Bannasidhe

J C wrote: »

... and are you actually?:):eek:

Your secret is safe with me!!!;)

Yes.

It's hardly a secret - even my mother knows.

J C

Bannasidhe wrote: »

Yes.

It's hardly a secret - even my mother knows.

Fair enough.;)

SpaceTime

Well there are two separate things going on here. Christmas is a christian festival, but it basically was deliberately merged with existing pagan festivals to give us what we now know as 'xmas'.

Christian religions were very adept at borrowing pagan festivals and trying to impose christian meanings on them.

Despite huge effort by various churches, Halloween keeps coming back stronger than ever though lol.

Having a huge feast and decorating pine trees with lights and eating all sorts of rich preserved foods like fruit cakes doesn't really sound very like something that would have originated in the middle east or in christian origins to me ...

It has a very strong whiff of a pagan winter festival to me and it's quite odd that it almost exactly coincides with the winter equinox ... Hmm.. call me suspicious but.. pagans.. festivals.. trees .. bright lights.. alcohol .. singing / dancing at winter equinox ... Not sure if that sounds all that Christian to me.

For most people in reality we're celebrating Santa Claus who was also somewhat christianised as Saint Nicolas when the tradition of an old guy bringing kids presents around the winter equinox time goes back way before that. It existed in many european cultures and continues in the Basque Country as Olentzero to this day - a mythical character comes down from the mountains giving presents...

The main thing is that it's a big festival where everyone's really nice to each other and gives each other presents and socialises in the darkest depths of winter.

Whatever it's meaning to you, the big old pagan (festival of many names) or christian Christmas winter festival serves a very important social purpose and gets us through the darkest part of winter with something fun to look forward to.

It serves a huge human need!

Bannasidhe

SpaceTime wrote: »

It serves a huge human need!

To see Dr Who save London. Again.

SpaceTime

Bannasidhe wrote: »

To see Dr Who save London. Again.

Not to mention Charlie and the Chocolate factory (original version)... Can only be watched with a roaring fire, xmas tree on full bling setting and after several glasses of wine/beer/whatever your tipple is and xmas cake!

Brian Shanahan

SpaceTime wrote: »

Not to mention Charlie and the Chocolate factory (original version)... Can only be watched with a roaring fire, xmas tree on full bling setting and after several glasses of wine/beer/whatever your tipple is and xmas cake!

Or Steve McQueen jumping the fence.

Hotblack Desiato

Or sh1tty titty gang bang Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

Bannasidhe

ninja900 wrote: »

Or sh1tty titty gang bang Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

It's A Wonderful Life




Abandons coat and sprints for door.

Hotblack Desiato

Fur coat and no knickers :pac:

Bannasidhe

ninja900 wrote: »

Fur coat and no knickers :pac:

Or as my Nan used to say 'piss elegant'.

Lub

I had a little look around and haven't seen this article posted yet. Harris offers an interesting perspective on the whole lying to your children about Santa (and other mythical things), and whether or not it has a lasting affect on them. Has anyone read the book?

So... those of you who have little'uns, does Santa exist in your household?

smacl

Lub wrote: »

I had a little look around and haven't seen this article posted yet. Harris offers an interesting perspective on the whole lying to your children about Santa (and other mythical things), and whether or not it has a lasting affect on them. Has anyone read the book?

So... those of you who have little'uns, does Santa exist in your household?

Yep, we still have Santa, against my better judgement. Problem comes with peers, friends and other young family members. Your kid says there's no Santa and they're creating a veritable shítstorm for the other parents, which goes down like a lead balloon. Much worse than saying there's no God, which no one really seems to care about any more.

I read the linked article, a bit preachy some kind of wonderful for my tastes.

pauldla

Lub wrote: »

I had a little look around and haven't seen this article posted yet. Harris offers an interesting perspective on the whole lying to your children about Santa (and other mythical things), and whether or not it has a lasting affect on them. Has anyone read the book?

So... those of you who have little'uns, does Santa exist in your household?

Yeah, but not sure how much longer it's going to last, as the other kids in their classes don't get Santa. One of the fathers flat out told my son last year 'That was just your father'. Could have killed him!

Bannasidhe

7 year old Hermoine discussed the existence of Santa with my thiest (but now seriously doubting...so maybe now agnostic) OH over the weekend.

H: 'Some people say there is no Santa.'

OH: 'Some people say there is no God as well'

H: ' Ha - God...where's the proof like? Sure who cares if there is a God or not. Makes no difference. But Santa...whole different story there.'

lazygal

At least Santa brings actual stuff, not vague promises of an afterlife. And Santa doesn't have a hissy fit and drown you if you're naughty.

Einhard

lazygal wrote: »

At least Santa brings actual stuff, not vague promises of an afterlife. And Santa doesn't have a hissy fit and drown you if you're naughty.

He gets Black Petey to bate the crap out of ye instead!! :eek:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zwarte_Piet

Lub

smacl wrote: »

Yep, we still have Santa, against my better judgement. Problem comes with peers, friends and other young family members. Your kid says there's no Santa and they're creating a veritable shítstorm for the other parents, which goes down like a lead balloon. Much worse than saying there's no God, which no one really seems to care about any more.

I read the linked article, a bit preachy some kind of wonderful for my tastes.

I agree, it's almost a social obligation to encourage your child to believe in Santa, and like Harris said it does obviously make Christmas that little bit more magical for them. But as he also said, and I think this was the best point he made in the article, believing that Spiderman exists would make day-to-day life that much more magical too.

Turtwig

Gonna drag this thread off topic (Mod Abuse #135789.3)

What do ye guys think of the Dinovember thing then? The idea of having kids believe the toy dinosaurs are alive.

robindch

Jernal wrote: »

What do ye guys think of the Dinovember thing then? The idea of having kids believe the toy dinosaurs are alive.

Less itchy than Movember for sure.

smacl

Lub wrote: »

I agree, it's almost a social obligation to encourage your child to believe in Santa, and like Harris said it does obviously make Christmas that little bit more magical for them. But as he also said, and I think this was the best point he made in the article, believing that Spiderman exists would make day-to-day life that much more magical too.

Kids worlds are full of fantasy and make believe. If he didn't bring presents, no way could the fat elderly bearded dude in a red suit compete with likes of Spiderman, Doctor Who or even Katniss. I don't think they give a damn what the grown ups say is true or not. I strongly suspect that many of them maintain the santa myth to keep their parents happy (and the presents coming) as much as the reverse. They're also lie to a greater or lesser extent from a young age, as any parent who's asked their kids if they've brushed their teeth before going to bed will tell you. I somehow doubt that removing Santa from the scene would change that.

Bannasidhe

Jernal wrote: »

Gonna drag this thread off topic (Mod Abuse #135789.3)

What do ye guys think of the Dinovember thing then? The idea of having kids believe the toy dinosaurs are alive.

Insanely jealous that I didn't think of that.

Although the Killer Potato lie I used to keep young Sonofmine from exploring basement of old house we owned with ancient but still live fuse box still makes me chuckle.

Hotblack Desiato

Project FSM is go :cool:

Sarky

There is nothing on this earth that cannot be improved with googly eyes:

Breakfast.

Babies.

Jesus.

Pope John Paul II.

Edit: Actually there aren't nearly enough religious pictures and paintings with googly eyes slapped on. I may have to do something about that. Man, how tempting it is to wander in to a cathedral during a quiet time and visit the stations of the cross with a tube of pritt-stick and a bag of googly eyes...

Bannasidhe

Sarky wrote: »

There is nothing on this earth that cannot be improved with googly eyes:

Breakfast.

Babies.

Jesus.

Pope John Paul II.

Edit: Actually there aren't nearly enough religious pictures and paintings with googly eyes slapped on. I may have to do something about that. Man, how tempting it is to wander in to a cathedral during a quiet time and visit the stations of the cross with a tube of pritt-stick and a bag of googly eyes...

I hear-by name this Post-Modern Iconoclasm and by virtue of the Talking Head status conferred on me by many degrees and the like in both Art and History to be a) The defining art movement of the opening decades of the 21st century, b) An expression of the people's dissatisfaction with the Church of Rome akin to the Iconoclasm of the Reformation period, c) A re-imagining of the principles of Dada, and d) Sounding like jolly good fun.

Brian Shanahan

Bannasidhe wrote: »

7 year old Hermoine discussed the existence of Santa with my thiest (but now seriously doubting...so maybe now agnostic) OH over the weekend.

H: 'Some people say there is no Santa.'

OH: 'Some people say there is no God as well'

H: ' Ha - God...where's the proof like? Sure who cares if there is a God or not. Makes no difference. But Santa...whole different story there.'

And the children shall lead.

Brian Shanahan

smacl wrote: »

I strongly suspect that many of them maintain the santa myth to keep their parents happy (and the presents coming) as much as the reverse. They're also lie to a greater or lesser extent from a young age, as any parent who's asked their kids if they've brushed their teeth before going to bed will tell you. I somehow doubt that removing Santa from the scene would change that.

Dat's Me! I was five when I found out, was still awake when my father snuck in Christmas eve with the presents. Kept schtum until I was 11.

Hotblack Desiato

5.5 year old Mini-Miss said she 'doesn't really believe in Santa the rest of the year'
but 'kind of does at this part of the year'

Hotblack Desiato

Sarky wrote: »

There is nothing on this earth that cannot be improved with googly eyes:

Man, how tempting it is to wander in to a cathedral during a quiet time and visit the stations of the cross with a tube of pritt-stick and a bag of googly eyes...

It's a temptation that can only be dealt with one day at a time

Beruthiel

ninja900 wrote: »

Project FSM is go :cool:

Ooohh!
I'm dying to see the finished product.
Be sure to post up a pic!

uck51js9zml2yt

lazygal wrote: »

At least Santa brings actual stuff, not vague promises of an afterlife. And Santa doesn't have a hissy fit and drown you if you're naughty.

You never heard of the eastern European version where st Nicholas's (Santa) demon helper gives coal to bad children and his angel helper gives presents to good children

MrPudding

Crosby Quiet Teaspoon wrote: »

You never heard of the eastern European version where st Nicholas's (Santa) demon helper gives coal to bad children and his angel helper gives presents to good children

Are you equating giving naughty children coal with a toys out of the pram mass extinction event?

MrP

uck51js9zml2yt

MrPudding wrote: »

Are you equating giving naughty children coal with a toys out of the pram mass extinction event?

MrP

Huh?

Delirium

Crosby Quiet Teaspoon wrote: »

You never heard of the eastern European version where st Nicholas's (Santa) demon helper gives coal to bad children and his angel helper gives presents to good children

aren't Eastern Euopean countries very cold at Christmas? Sounds like a very good + practical present. Bad kids stay warm at Christmas!

Sarky

Is that why Russia has such a problem with homophobic bigoted arseholes today? Some sort of festive natural selection?

uck51js9zml2yt

Sarky wrote: »

Is that why Russia has such a problem with homophobic bigoted arseholes today? Some sort of festive natural selection?

I'd say this forum has its fair share of bigots as well ...must be all Russian:)

Sarky

Oh, most of the bigots here usually head back to the Christianity forum before long. :pac:

pauldla

Sarky wrote: »

Oh, most of the bigots here usually head back to the Christianity forum before long. :pac:

I think some of them only come for the biscuits.

Hotblack Desiato

koth wrote: »

Bad kids stay warm at Christmas!

Bad adults stay warm in eternity

robindch

Crosby Quiet Teaspoon wrote: »

I'd say this forum has its fair share of bigots as well ...must be all Russian:)

Ну, кто? Я вас слушаю!