Well, well, it’s coming up to Easter. Hooray!
However, this brings me to a point – why do atheists celebrate Christian holidays? Christmas, Easter – even Thanksgiving, if you’re American.
I don’t see the point of them celebrating it at all – after all, if it weren’t for Christianity they wouldn’t even have the holidays in the first place.
Yes, I know that they were taken over from pagan holidays, but the fact remains much and such the same: these holidays stem from belief in some deity. Were the world atheist from the beginning, there would be no holiday – especially since the word “holiday” stems from the two words “holy” and “day”. As a matter of fact, without paganism, halloween wouldn’t be here either.
So, Atheists of the world; you’ve got religion to thank for your holidays! 
April 6, 2009 at 11:36 am
Because quite aside from being religious, they’re also comm-
Wait, no. That’s not the right one.
Hmm. In some cases, probably because atheist families were at some generation in the past religious, and even if the children would grow up to decide they don’t want much to do with religion, as children they celebrated Easter and Christmas, and got gifts of chocolate and general presents. When they grew up, they celebrated the holidays with their children, as… it’s only fair the children get to celebrate things and have gifts, too?
Ah, yes. I can bring the commercialism of the holidays in the present into the discussion, too. Given all the advertising and such around the holidays, there’s also an element of ‘you’re missing out’ if you don’t celebrate it; Asda probably isn’t Christian, but they still put chocolate eggs on the shelves starting a couple of weeks after Christmas. Children probably just want the chocolate, and adults might feel the urge to conform with what everyone else is doing… and want the chocolate.
April 6, 2009 at 12:24 pm
Remember that the commercialization of holy days (holidays) is nothing new. Around the time Jesus was in Jerusalem it had become a huge money making event every year at pass over. Israelites traveled from all over the world and in stead of bringing their own sacrificial lamb there where merchants that raised lambs and other livestock for the purpose of selling them to visitors for passover. These visitors would also travel in extravagant caravans to show off their wealth, this would cause others to try and be more showy the next year and by the time Jesus came to passover it had became a parade of rich caravans down main street.
It is amazing that no matter what happens in history you can always count on humans to repeat their mistakes.
April 11, 2009 at 6:12 pm
It’s funny, ain’t it guys?
Thanks for your comments. I had no idea that passover had become a commercialized festival back then!