Why non-christians celebrate christmass & newyear

[Servant_of_the_One1]

Isnt that contradiction? And weird?

U dont believe in Christianity but u celebrate Christmass and New Year?
Maybe u dont have ur own "religious holydays", maybe u hold christian holydays to be more superior?
Maybe u dont have ur own new year? Maybe u hold christian new year to be more superior?

 

[Godobeyer]

Isnt that contradiction? And weird?

U dont believe in Christianity but u celebrate Christmass and New Year?
Maybe u dont have ur own "religious holydays", maybe u hold christian holydays to be more superior?
Maybe u dont have ur own new year? Maybe u hold christian new year to be more superior?

Good points , I am curious too

I am curious why we the Muslims don't celebrate Christmass,since we believe that Jesus (pbuh) is our messenger too .
I mean yesterday we celebrated birth of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh),why not Jesus (pbuh) ?!!

 

[Servant_of_the_One1]

Good points , I am curious too

I am curious why we the Muslims don't celebrate Christmass,since we believe that Jesus (pbuh) is our messenger too .
I mean yesterday we celebrated birth of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh),why not Jesus (pbuh) ?!!

I dont celebrate christmass because in my view it is blasphemous celebration.
They celebrate God was born. That is 100% blasphemy and disbelief.


U misunderstood my topic.
I mean why non-christians celebrate christian days(christmass and new year) when they dont believe in christianity trinity???

 

[LuisDantas]

Hi, @Servant_of_the_One1

I don't see any contradiction, personally.

We are people like anyone else, with social needs and a willingness to celebrate and nurture our relationships.

I suppose we could make a point of emphasizing that we are not believers, but that would usually be unadvisable. It could hurt the feelings of people at exactly the time we less want to do that.

Had we began from a blank slate situation and chosen to present those festive events as Christian-motivated at a time when we could have chosen an alternative, then I would agree with you: that would be a contradiction, and at least a bit weird.

But... you know, family matters, and most of us find ourselves in the situation of going along with what turns out to be a fairly harmless concession (most of the time) or choosing instead to cause some measure of disconfort for no clear benefit.

I am all for questioning Christianity, and particularly its passive acceptance. But doing so during the festivities is just not very proper and rarely if ever necessary.

 

[Godobeyer]

I dont celebrate christmass because in my view it is blasphemous celebration.
They celebrate God was born. That is 100% blasphemy and disbelief.

But Jesus (pbuh) is our Prophet too , why not celebrate his birth as Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) ?

 

[Debater Slayer]

I think it's probably cultural. I don't celebrate New Years or Christmas myself, but I celebrate Eid al-Fitr despite being an atheist. I just have fun and celebrate part of the culture I was brought up in; similarly, one doesn't have to be a Christian or believe Christianity is superior to celebrate Christmas.

I don't celebrate Eid al-Adha, though, because I ethically disagree with slaughtering animals as a tribute to any god, and also because I ethically disagree with the very foundations of the story of Abraham's vision of sacrificing Ismael (or Isaac, in Christianity). A lot of people don't have similar objections to Christmas and so they have no problem celebrating it culturally.

 

[LuisDantas]

I dont celebrate christmass because in my view it is blasphemous celebration.
They celebrate God was born. That is 100% blasphemy and disbelief.


U misunderstood my topic.
I mean why non-christians celebrate christian days(christmass and new year) when they dont believe in christianity trinity???

Servant, it is my understanding that most Muslims (even secular ones) don't usually feel lightly about blasphemy, or even disbelief.

So I have to wonder: why are you using such a strong word for what is at the end of the day just a minor disagreement about the specific role of Jesus?

I would assume that the average Muslim thinks of God as somewhat difficult to fully understand, since he is so much more than human ability could grasp.

In that sense, it would seem to me that no human except perhaps a very few Prophets can fairly understand or describe God, and therefore there is a practical need to accept that fact and learn not to be too troubled by it.

People's understanding of God will be incomplete and imperfect far more often than not, won't it? It is not clear to me that there is reason in there to create a scene during the festivities. If you see any, perhaps you might want to elaborate on the reasons why?

 

[Revoltingest]

Many of us celebrate holidays without paying any attention to original meanings others would attribute.
They're holidays....time to goof off, eat too much, or make loud noises.

 

[Debater Slayer]

Good points , I am curious too

I am curious why we the Muslims don't celebrate Christmass,since we believe that Jesus (pbuh) is our messenger too .
I mean yesterday we celebrated birth of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh),why not Jesus (pbuh) ?!!

The mainstream Sunni view is that celebrating the birthday of Muhammad is bid'a or "a sinful invention," so Sunni lslam doesn't look favorably upon celebrating the birthday of Muhammad either.

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

Isnt that contradiction? And weird?

U dont believe in Christianity but u celebrate Christmass and New Year?
Maybe u dont have ur own "religious holydays", maybe u hold christian holydays to be more superior?
Maybe u dont have ur own new year? Maybe u hold christian new year to be more superior?

In the West, we use a calendar that was developed by Christians, but it isn't an explicitly "Christian" calendar. The timing of our new year doesn't have any particular religious significance.

As for Christmas, I don't have a problem with stripping the religious significance out of it and participating in the cultural and family aspects. If the Christians can co-opt Yule from the pagans, I can co-opt Christmas from the Christians.

 

[LuisDantas]

I get the sense that in Muslim environments the festivities are not all that different from anywhere else.

I assume that there is some celebration of family and friends, at least a bit of good food being shared, and probably a fair bit of praise of God, the Qur'an and the Prophet.

And I also assume that people rarely if ever make a point of finding out if there is anyone present that does not quite believe in any of the three. Among of other reasons, because it would be a rude gesture.


Christmas is not radically different, if perhaps a bit less heavy on reminding people of God and Jesus.

The bottom line is that people tend to want to show gratitute for family and friends, regardless of what theological beliefs they might have or lack. And I for one see nothing wrong with that.

 

[Servant_of_the_One1]

Hi, @Servant_of_the_One1

I don't see any contradiction, personally.

We are people like anyone else, with social needs and a willingness to celebrate and nurture our relationships.

I suppose we could make a point of emphasizing that we are not believers, but that would usually be unadvisable. It could hurt the feelings of people at exactly the time we less want to do that.

Had we began from a blank slate situation and chosen to present those festive events as Christian-motivated at a time when we could have chosen an alternative, then I would agree with you: that would be a contradiction, and at least a bit weird.

But... you know, family matters, and most of us find ourselves in the situation of going along with what turns out to be a fairly harmless concession (most of the time) or choosing instead to cause some measure of disconfort for no clear benefit.

I am all for questioning Christianity, and particularly its passive acceptance. But doing so during the festivities is just not very proper and rarely if ever necessary.

But by celebrating christmass and new year, doesnt that mean u accept Christianity indirectly?

 

[Servant_of_the_One1]

The mainstream Sunni view is that celebrating the birthday of Muhammad is bid'a or "a sinful invention," so Sunni lslam doesn't look favorably upon celebrating the birthday of Muhammad either.

Yes , mawlid is bidah.
Innovation

 

[Servant_of_the_One1]

But Jesus (pbuh) is our Prophet too , why not celebrate his birth as Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) ?

I dont celebrate both birthdays.

To me these are innovations after they were gone.

The disciples and companions never celebrated birthdays of jesus and muhammad peace be upon them.

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

The disciples and companions never celebrated birthdays of jesus and muhammad peace be upon them.

How would you know?

 

[Servant_of_the_One1]

How would you know?

If that is so, would be mentioned in quran and hadiths.

Thats what i personaly believe.
Ofcourse i respect people celebrating christmass and mawlid.

 

[LuisDantas]

But by celebrating christmass and new year, doesnt that mean u accept Christianity indirectly?

That is a very good question.

How much of an effort at denying Christianity do you feel I should make?

I don't hide my disbelief. I do not pretend to be a Christian. But people do not often ask me whether I am a Christian or a believer in God's existence, either. If I ever misled people into assuming that I hold Christian beliefs, it was a mistake and I hope to atone for it somehow.

But the truth of the matter is that many people do not want to raise the issue. Most Christians do not feel all that differently than me on this matter, apparently. In my country there is no shortage of religious disagreement between Protestants and Catholics, and many can't quite accept that Atheists exist even to this day.

But that is not something that they want to play a role in their end of year festivities. And on that I am fully supportive. There is plenty of opportunity for exposing our disagreements, but it is also very important to take the time to show mutual appreciation, support, gratitude and hope.

Our emotional and social needs are simply not too different after all, regardless of our religious and theological stances.

Anyone who knows me understands that I am not attempting to be mistaken for a Christian for that. It is just that I know better than to be unpleasant just to make an empty point.

 

[Augustus]

The disciples and companions never celebrated birthdays of jesus and muhammad peace be upon them.

Yes they did, and I have proof

(he didn't want his picture on the cake)

 

[Jayhawker Soule]

I found Muslim Americans Debate Celebrating Christmas interesting.

 

[Servant_of_the_One1]

That is a very good question.

How much of an effort at denying Christianity do you feel I should make?

I don't hide my disbelief. I do not pretend to be a Christian. But people do not often ask me whether I am a Christian or a believer in God's existence, either. If I ever misled people into assuming that I hold Christian beliefs, it was a mistake and I hope to atone for it somehow.

But the truth of the matter is that many people do not want to raise the issue. Most Christians do not feel all that differently than me on this matter, apparently. In my country there is no shortage of religious disagreement between Protestants and Catholics, and many can't quite accept that Atheists exist even to this day.

But that is not something that they want to play a role in their end of year festivities. And on that I am fully supportive. There is plenty of opportunity for exposing our disagreements, but it is also very important to take the time to show mutual appreciation, support, gratitude and hope.

Our emotional and social needs are simply not too different after all, regardless of our religious and theological stances.

Anyone who knows me understands that I am not attempting to be mistaken for a Christian for that. It is just that I know better than to be unpleasant just to make an empty point.

For example Dantas,
I dont recognize and believe Mawlid.
Then i would find it strange to go to the mosque celebrating mawlid.
Or to attend a house where Mawlid is celebrated. Its what i call contradiction.
Maybe i see it different than u?
I understand that christian tradition is the most popular and superior in the west, there is no dispute about that. But why should atheist take part in such celebrations that is religious in nature.

There was programm about this issue.
In the documentary the atheists said they have no other celebrations, they are stuck to celebrate it because its fun, lots of drinks and food. So basically the atheists dont have culture of their own.