Should atheists celebrate Thanksgiving?

[Blackrook]

Atheists can argue that Christmas and Easter have pagan roots, since the Early Church replaced pagan holidays with Christian holidays and adopted many of the same symbols....

But Thanksgiving has no pagan roots. It has been since the beginning a holiday about thanking God for the blessings we have in our life, as individuals, and as a nation.

You don't have to be a Christian to celebrate Thanksgiving, but you do have to believe there is some divine power that is providing us with the things we need in life. So a Jew, a Muslim, a Hindu, a Buddhist, or a Shinto could celebrate Thanksgiving.

But an atheist has no one to thank. He thinks that everything good in life is entirely his own doing, or just a result of good luck or fortunate circumstances.

So let me ask you atheists, do you celebrate Thanksgiving?

And if you do, don't you see that it is rather hypocritical to celebrate a holiday to thank a divine power you don't believe in?

 

[Delta4Embassy]

Thanksgiving's my least favorite holiday. Completely fabricated origin story covering up brutal treatment of the natives.

THE REAL STORY OF THANKSGIVING

As an effective atheist, prefer 'areligious' but it hasn't caught on yet, most holidays have secular versions. Christmas, Easter with Santa and Easter Bunny et al. Wanna "celebrate" the religious part or completely ignore it, you're probably still gonna get the day off so might as well. Plus, more cravenly for myself, if I get free candy or presents, I'll celebrate whatever you say.

 

[Blackrook]

Thanksgiving's my least favorite holiday. Completely fabricated origin story covering up brutal treatment of the natives.

THE REAL STORY OF THANKSGIVING

As an effective atheist, prefer 'areligious' but it hasn't caught on yet, most holidays have secular versions. Christmas, Easter with Santa and Easter Bunny et al. Wanna "celebrate" the religious part or completely ignore it, you're probably still gonna get the day off so might as well. Plus, more cravenly for myself, if I get free candy or presents, I'll celebrate whatever you say.

Do you ruin Thanksgiving for everyone in your family by telling them how much you hate it? I'll bet you do.

 

[Moonglow]

Happy Hallmark Thanksgiving...

 

[emilynghiem]

Thanksgiving's my least favorite holiday. Completely fabricated origin story covering up brutal treatment of the natives.

THE REAL STORY OF THANKSGIVING

As an effective atheist, prefer 'areligious' but it hasn't caught on yet, most holidays have secular versions. Christmas, Easter with Santa and Easter Bunny et al. Wanna "celebrate" the religious part or completely ignore it, you're probably still gonna get the day off so might as well. Plus, more cravenly for myself, if I get free candy or presents, I'll celebrate whatever you say.

Dear Delta: I would recommend "nontheist" which is more neutral. And then try to stick to that.

 

[Moonglow]

The dirty Injuns that were part of Thanksgiving were not Christians, so hell yes atheist can enjoy Thanksgiving, yet another religious holiday meant for all..

 

[September]

Thanksgiving is boring and overrated. As it was stated, there is nothing Pagan about it. It doesn't fall on any of the Solsitices or Equinoxes, or their Midpoints, and thus it isn't special to me. There is no Euphoria to experience.

And people do not have to thank God on Thanksgiving in order to be thankful. They can thank their family and friends and those around them whom they care about, who they feel grateful to for whatever reasons.

Me personally, I like the oppurtunity to see my family before Christmas. So for me, Thanksgiving is more about seeing family again and being glad we all still have each other.

But that's it really.

I do give thanks to the Gods for so many things, but I do that nearly everyday anyway, so that plays no special role for me on Thanksgiving.

I like the oppurtunity to spend some time with my relatives and feast/ party... but that's it.

I mean when Halloween came... OH GOD the day before it one could already feel the Euphoria developing... and then Midnight strikes and Darkness falls upon us, the Veil becomes thinnest and the entire Day seems so exciting and MAGICKAL... then Sunset happens and Samhain is upon us... and the entire night is devoted to celebrations and dancing and rituals and sacrifices... then we celebrate Dia De Los Muertos!

In comparison, Thanksgiving is way too Mundane.
​

 

[Disir]

Yep. I'm going to worry more when all that somber thankfullness does not include football.

Look, I don't live in a vacuum. I don't know many atheists that do live in a vacuum. That means that you either show up or host it as needed. It makes people happy.
That's it.

 

[Steven_R]

Just because I don't believe in divine intervention doesn't mean I can't be thankful for my friends and family. I may not need supplication to the gods, but that doesn't mean I have to be an asshole about it. Say grace if that's what the tradition at the host's house is, sing Christmas carols, decorate the Christmas tree, give presents, hide Easter eggs for kids to find, dress up for Halloween, just have fun. I can engage is serious talk later. In the mean time, I'll bring beer and my world famous chocolate flan cake, watch some football, and just enjoy the festivities.

 

[Syriusly]

Atheists can argue that Christmas and Easter have pagan roots, since the Early Church replaced pagan holidays with Christian holidays and adopted many of the same symbols....

But Thanksgiving has no pagan roots. It has been since the beginning a holiday about thanking God for the blessings we have in our life, as individuals, and as a nation.

You don't have to be a Christian to celebrate Thanksgiving, but you do have to believe there is some divine power that is providing us with the things we need in life. So a Jew, a Muslim, a Hindu, a Buddhist, or a Shinto could celebrate Thanksgiving.

But an atheist has no one to thank. He thinks that everything good in life is entirely his own doing, or just a result of good luck or fortunate circumstances.

So let me ask you atheists, do you celebrate Thanksgiving?

And if you do, don't you see that it is rather hypocritical to celebrate a holiday to thank a divine power you don't believe in?

Not hypocritical.

I give 'thanks' - i.e. I am thankful- for everything and everyone in my life.

I really don't have an issue with it, and don't know why you want to make an issue of it.

I also celebrate Christmas, Easter and the Fourth of July as secular holidays.

And in that spirit- I hope you and your family enjoy a wonderful Thanksgiving.

 

[norwegen]

Yep. I'm going to worry more when all that somber thankfullness does not include football.

Look, I don't live in a vacuum. I don't know many atheists that do live in a vacuum. That means that you either show up or host it as needed. It makes people happy.
That's it.

I don't know anyone who lives in a vacuum. Although that vacuum down the street at the car wash may be big enough for a midget, but then he wouldn't have room for any major appliances.

 

[Disir]

Yep. I'm going to worry more when all that somber thankfullness does not include football.

Look, I don't live in a vacuum. I don't know many atheists that do live in a vacuum. That means that you either show up or host it as needed. It makes people happy.
That's it.

I don't know anyone who lives in a vacuum. Although that vacuum down the street at the car wash may be big enough for a midget, but then he wouldn't have room for any major appliances.

It's an equal opportunity appliance.

 

[Hollie]

Atheists can argue that Christmas and Easter have pagan roots, since the Early Church replaced pagan holidays with Christian holidays and adopted many of the same symbols....

But Thanksgiving has no pagan roots. It has been since the beginning a holiday about thanking God for the blessings we have in our life, as individuals, and as a nation.

You don't have to be a Christian to celebrate Thanksgiving, but you do have to believe there is some divine power that is providing us with the things we need in life. So a Jew, a Muslim, a Hindu, a Buddhist, or a Shinto could celebrate Thanksgiving.

But an atheist has no one to thank. He thinks that everything good in life is entirely his own doing, or just a result of good luck or fortunate circumstances.

So let me ask you atheists, do you celebrate Thanksgiving?

And if you do, don't you see that it is rather hypocritical to celebrate a holiday to thank a divine power you don't believe in?

We can certainly thank people like you for providing object lessons on the dangers of religious extremism.

 

[Dont Taz Me Bro]

Thanksgiving is not a religious holiday

 

[Camp]

Thanksgiving is our version of the age old harvest festival. The dates were different and never predictable, depending on the region and crop season of any particular year, but it was a time to celebrate months of hard labor producing the foods that would feed the families for the winter. The best known one is probably Octoberfest. So the thankful part is just being thankful for having food and whatever else you have. Not all harvest times were festive. Some of them were probably nightmarish and made the good years a genuine reason to be thankful.

 

[MaryL]

Despite what you might think, all atheists don't object to Christmas, Easter or kwanza or anything else. We eat it up, drink the eggnog, and push the button and turn on the electric Xmas tree because we are sentimental kids at heart, too. God may not be here, but we are. We love this stuff, pssst, don't tell anyone.

 

[Roadrunner]

Thanksgiving's my least favorite holiday. Completely fabricated origin story covering up brutal treatment of the natives.

THE REAL STORY OF THANKSGIVING

As an effective atheist, prefer 'areligious' but it hasn't caught on yet, most holidays have secular versions. Christmas, Easter with Santa and Easter Bunny et al. Wanna "celebrate" the religious part or completely ignore it, you're probably still gonna get the day off so might as well. Plus, more cravenly for myself, if I get free candy or presents, I'll celebrate whatever you say.

Atheists can argue that Christmas and Easter have pagan roots, since the Early Church replaced pagan holidays with Christian holidays and adopted many of the same symbols....

But Thanksgiving has no pagan roots. It has been since the beginning a holiday about thanking God for the blessings we have in our life, as individuals, and as a nation.

You don't have to be a Christian to celebrate Thanksgiving, but you do have to believe there is some divine power that is providing us with the things we need in life. So a Jew, a Muslim, a Hindu, a Buddhist, or a Shinto could celebrate Thanksgiving.

But an atheist has no one to thank. He thinks that everything good in life is entirely his own doing, or just a result of good luck or fortunate circumstances.

So let me ask you atheists, do you celebrate Thanksgiving?

And if you do, don't you see that it is rather hypocritical to celebrate a holiday to thank a divine power you don't believe in?

They can thank whoever they want.

Hell, you do not have to believe in a god to be thankful.

And, almost everyone likes turkey.

I think somebody needs to get a life, if their mind dwells on shit like this.

 

[Roadrunner]

Thanksgiving's my least favorite holiday. Completely fabricated origin story covering up brutal treatment of the natives.

THE REAL STORY OF THANKSGIVING

As an effective atheist, prefer 'areligious' but it hasn't caught on yet, most holidays have secular versions. Christmas, Easter with Santa and Easter Bunny et al. Wanna "celebrate" the religious part or completely ignore it, you're probably still gonna get the day off so might as well. Plus, more cravenly for myself, if I get free candy or presents, I'll celebrate whatever you say.

Do you ruin Thanksgiving for everyone in your family by telling them how much you hate it? I'll bet you do.

He's a regular Billy Buzzkill.

Seems every family has one congenital malcontent.

 

[norwegen]

Thanksgiving is not a religious holiday

The day Thanksgiving became a national holiday, it also became "a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens."

Thanksgiving Proclomation, 1863

 

[Roadrunner]

Thanksgiving is not a religious holiday

The day Thanksgiving became a national holiday, it also became "a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens."

Thanksgiving Proclomation, 1863

Horrible I tell ya, just fuckin' horrible.

Obama should issue an executive order cancelling this terrible holiday, and make everybody with a job go to work.