Should atheists celebrate Thanksgiving?

[Mr. H.]

I like this prayer. I recited it at our last T'giving reunion a couple years ago and will do so again on Thursday...

We return thanks to our mother the Earth,which sustains us.
We return thanks to the rivers and streams,
which supply us with water.
We return thanks to all herbs,
which furnish medicines for the cure of our diseases.
We return thanks to the moon and stars,
which have given to us their light when the sun was gone.
We return thanks to the sun,
that has looked upon the earth with a beneficent eye.
Lastly, we return thanks to the Great Spirit,
in Whom is embodied all goodness,
and Who directs all things for the good of Her children.

 

[Steven_R]

Who are you to say which holidays atheists can celebrate?

I am just a regular guy who's noticed that atheists do a lot of pretending just to get along with friends and family and co-workers.

There's no "pretending" involved.

Yes, there is. You "go along to get along" -- one atheist admits he pretends to pray on Thanksgiving. You celebrate Christmas, but secretly despise Christ. But you keep it to yourself, you don't want Mom and Dad to get upset, or any of your other relatives.

I don't despise Christ, I simply don't believe he existed as some divine being. I like Christmas for the presents, the get togethers, the merriment, Santa, the kids, the whole nine yards, regardless of the religious underpinnings (pagan or Christian).

As far as not upsetting Mom and Dad, so what? I don't want to upset them. Call it living a lie if you want, but I don't see my family so I can battle with them. If it makes them comfortable to believe I'm a lapsed Protestant, I can live with it. Beyond that, outside of the internet I just don't discuss religion or the lack thereof, in large part because it doesn't come up in discussion very often. I also don't discuss my preferences in sex acts, which brand of underwear I buy, or my favorite guitar pick. If it comes up in conversation I won't lie, but it doesn't come up in conversation and I'm not going to pick that particular hill to die on in my parents' home just so I can be self-satisfied.

 

[amrchaos]

So thanksgiving is not an actual religious holiday but a FARCE based on genocide with a sweet popular myth to keep it going strong.

Man, too many of you are so naive.
Always wishing to find and spread the truth.
Always missing the point of why we need a good lie to tell each other and ourselves........

You want truth? OK, let see if you can handle some honest truth.

Every Human being hails from a group of murderous swine and psychopaths. If you think your family history or ideology does not have some darkness to it, then you are lying to yourself.

See how useful a good lie is? It keeps your ego floating on cloud 9 while you desecrate the 'others' for disagreeing with you.

Even the 'filth' you denounce are still human. And your 'make up' is not much different from those you denigrate.

On that note,

Have a Happy Thanksgiving
and a Very Merry Christmas, too!

 

[Blackrook]

So thanksgiving is not an actual religious holiday but a FARCE based on genocide with a sweet popular myth to keep it going strong.

Man, too many of you are so naive.
Always wishing to find and spread the truth.
Always missing the point of why we need a good lie to tell each other and ourselves........

You want truth? OK, let see if you can handle some honest truth.

Every Human being hails from a group of murderous swine and psychopaths. If you think your family history or ideology does not have some darkness to it, then you are lying to yourself.

See how useful a good lie is? It keeps your ego floating on cloud 9 while you desecrate the 'others' for disagreeing with you.

Even the 'filth' you denounce are still human. And your 'make up' is not much different from those you denigrate.

On that note,

Have a Happy Thanksgiving
and a Very Merry Christmas, too!

^That's exactly it, just what I was looking for.

If you were honest atheists, you would say THIS to your family, and damn the consequences. But most of you prefer to fly under the radar, giving the impression that you are not the people you really are, to avoid upsetting people.

 

[HUGGY]

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?

The PBS show Roots recently followed Sally Fields ancestory and believe it or not her G-G-G-G-G Grand dad sat at the head of the table of the first Thanksgiving. The Native Americans were not Christians and were in attendance. I see no reason why non believers cannot share in a tradition celebrating the bounty of our existance. Hard work and just plain good fortune don't have to be conceded to the domain of the sky fairies.

 

[HUGGY]

So thanksgiving is not an actual religious holiday but a FARCE based on genocide with a sweet popular myth to keep it going strong.

Man, too many of you are so naive.
Always wishing to find and spread the truth.
Always missing the point of why we need a good lie to tell each other and ourselves........

You want truth? OK, let see if you can handle some honest truth.

Every Human being hails from a group of murderous swine and psychopaths. If you think your family history or ideology does not have some darkness to it, then you are lying to yourself.

See how useful a good lie is? It keeps your ego floating on cloud 9 while you desecrate the 'others' for disagreeing with you.

Even the 'filth' you denounce are still human. And your 'make up' is not much different from those you denigrate.

On that note,

Have a Happy Thanksgiving
and a Very Merry Christmas, too!

^That's exactly it, just what I was looking for.

If you were honest atheists, you would say THIS to your family, and damn the consequences. But most of you prefer to fly under the radar, giving the impression that you are not the people you really are, to avoid upsetting people.

The first Thanksgiving feast preceded what the white people did to the Native American populations by many years. I don't see how that first gathering and meal was hypocritical.

 

[amrchaos]

So thanksgiving is not an actual religious holiday but a FARCE based on genocide with a sweet popular myth to keep it going strong.

Man, too many of you are so naive.
Always wishing to find and spread the truth.
Always missing the point of why we need a good lie to tell each other and ourselves........

You want truth? OK, let see if you can handle some honest truth.

Every Human being hails from a group of murderous swine and psychopaths. If you think your family history or ideology does not have some darkness to it, then you are lying to yourself.

See how useful a good lie is? It keeps your ego floating on cloud 9 while you desecrate the 'others' for disagreeing with you.

Even the 'filth' you denounce are still human. And your 'make up' is not much different from those you denigrate.

On that note,

Have a Happy Thanksgiving
and a Very Merry Christmas, too!

^That's exactly it, just what I was looking for.

If you were honest atheists, you would say THIS to your family, and damn the consequences. But most of you prefer to fly under the radar, giving the impression that you are not the people you really are, to avoid upsetting people.

Boy, I bet you would do cartwheels of joy when you hear what I say about 'commercialized and fantasized' Christmas, wouldn't you?

 

[Blackrook]

So thanksgiving is not an actual religious holiday but a FARCE based on genocide with a sweet popular myth to keep it going strong.

Man, too many of you are so naive.
Always wishing to find and spread the truth.
Always missing the point of why we need a good lie to tell each other and ourselves........

You want truth? OK, let see if you can handle some honest truth.

Every Human being hails from a group of murderous swine and psychopaths. If you think your family history or ideology does not have some darkness to it, then you are lying to yourself.

See how useful a good lie is? It keeps your ego floating on cloud 9 while you desecrate the 'others' for disagreeing with you.

Even the 'filth' you denounce are still human. And your 'make up' is not much different from those you denigrate.

On that note,

Have a Happy Thanksgiving
and a Very Merry Christmas, too!

^That's exactly it, just what I was looking for.

If you were honest atheists, you would say THIS to your family, and damn the consequences. But most of you prefer to fly under the radar, giving the impression that you are not the people you really are, to avoid upsetting people.

Boy, I bet you would do cartwheels of joy when you hear what I say about 'commercialized and fantasized' Christmas, wouldn't you?

All I am saying is that you should be as honest about your feelings with your family as you are here, on an internet forum.

Believe it or not, that is what Christians are commanded to do.

We cannot "fly under the radar" and deny we are Christians, even if it means we will be killed for it.

 

[amrchaos]

So thanksgiving is not an actual religious holiday but a FARCE based on genocide with a sweet popular myth to keep it going strong.

Man, too many of you are so naive.
Always wishing to find and spread the truth.
Always missing the point of why we need a good lie to tell each other and ourselves........

You want truth? OK, let see if you can handle some honest truth.

Every Human being hails from a group of murderous swine and psychopaths. If you think your family history or ideology does not have some darkness to it, then you are lying to yourself.

See how useful a good lie is? It keeps your ego floating on cloud 9 while you desecrate the 'others' for disagreeing with you.

Even the 'filth' you denounce are still human. And your 'make up' is not much different from those you denigrate.

On that note,

Have a Happy Thanksgiving
and a Very Merry Christmas, too!

^That's exactly it, just what I was looking for.

If you were honest atheists, you would say THIS to your family, and damn the consequences. But most of you prefer to fly under the radar, giving the impression that you are not the people you really are, to avoid upsetting people.

Boy, I bet you would do cartwheels of joy when you hear what I say about 'commercialized and fantasized' Christmas, wouldn't you?

All I am saying is that you should be as honest about your feelings with your family as you are here, on an internet forum.

Believe it or not, that is what Christians are commanded to do.

We cannot "fly under the radar" and deny we are Christians, even if it means we will be killed for it.

Let see--Do my family know I am an atheist? Yes

Do my family 'know' about Thanksgiving? They are the the ones that told me about the slaughtering of Indians and something about Muslims being slaugthered as well!! They told me this when I was a kid!!

So I am missing what you mean about 'being honest with myself'. Can you please elaborate?

 

[Skull Pilot]

Haven't harvest time feasts been happening since before Christianity?

 

[Avatar4321]

Yes. Perhaps if they recognize the blessings they have received they will acknowledge the giver of those blessings

 

[Avatar4321]

So thanksgiving is not an actual religious holiday but a FARCE based on genocide with a sweet popular myth to keep it going strong.

Man, too many of you are so naive.
Always wishing to find and spread the truth.
Always missing the point of why we need a good lie to tell each other and ourselves........

You want truth? OK, let see if you can handle some honest truth.

Every Human being hails from a group of murderous swine and psychopaths. If you think your family history or ideology does not have some darkness to it, then you are lying to yourself.

See how useful a good lie is? It keeps your ego floating on cloud 9 while you desecrate the 'others' for disagreeing with you.

Even the 'filth' you denounce are still human. And your 'make up' is not much different from those you denigrate.

On that note,

Have a Happy Thanksgiving
and a Very Merry Christmas, too!

^That's exactly it, just what I was looking for.

If you were honest atheists, you would say THIS to your family, and damn the consequences. But most of you prefer to fly under the radar, giving the impression that you are not the people you really are, to avoid upsetting people.

Boy, I bet you would do cartwheels of joy when you hear what I say about 'commercialized and fantasized' Christmas, wouldn't you?

All I am saying is that you should be as honest about your feelings with your family as you are here, on an internet forum.

Believe it or not, that is what Christians are commanded to do.

We cannot "fly under the radar" and deny we are Christians, even if it means we will be killed for it.

Let see--Do my family know I am an atheist? Yes

Do my family 'know' about Thanksgiving? They are the the ones that told me about the slaughtering of Indians and something about Muslims being slaugthered as well!! They told me this when I was a kid!!

So I am missing what you mean about 'being honest with myself'. Can you please elaborate?

what do either of those things have to do with thanksgiving?

 

[Politico]

They can celebrate whatever the hell they want. Hopefully without the OP bothering them.

 

[Blackrook]

They can celebrate whatever the hell they want. Hopefully without the OP bothering them.

Ha ha, like what am I going to do, march into their homes? You're an idiot.

 

[Politico]

Ha ha? Id there's one thing everyone knows about Atheists and vegans, they never shut the hell up about it.

 

[Hyddan92]

Thanksgiving is about showing gratitude for a good harvest, it's a harvest celebration. In Scandinavia there have always been harvest celebrations to the gods around that time.

In Sweden people used to take a portion of their harvest and offer it to the church as a gesture to God, with little doubt a continuation of pre-christian offerings, the food used to be given out to the poor in the area. Nowadays in what extent the custom is still carried out the stuff given is usually auktioned out.

Thanksgiving happens at different dates across Europe depending on climate and harvest times. harvest in Sweden usually takes place in August or September, depending on region and how the climate for the current year is, however the Swedish "Tacksägelsedagen" lit. "Thanksgivingsday" is always the second sunday in October.

 

[emilynghiem]

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?

Dear Blackrook
If you understand God to mean Nature, the Source of Life, or Creation/the Universe,
anyone can thank
Nature
Life
the Universe
for bringing food and a good harvest.

I have an atheist friend who believes in Free Grace
as a natural gift in life, and he shows thanks all the time
by sharing and uplifting others with the empowerment
that comes with forgiving and moving forward
instead of the crippling misery and insanity that comes with unforgiveness
ill will and resentment.

It's much better for one's health, overall in mind body and spirit,
to be "thankful" for one's "blessings" or gifts in LIFE
rather than hold on to resentment and seek revenge or depend on actions of others to find justice and peace.

The people most effective are the ones who
can forgive so they can understand and correct or prevent wrongs in the future,
by learning from the past instead of fighting or focusing on projecting blame on others.

So learning to be THANKFUL and focus on the positives in LIFE
is part of Natural Law and process of human learning and development to maturity.

I don't think it matters so much what denomination or affiliation you are
as long as you are forgiving and inclusive enough of others to keep a universal
connection between individuals and collective society,
and don't get lost in divisions excluding others unequally.

Forgiveness is the key to healing one's body mind and spirit,
relations between people and between nations, and society in general.

That's independent of anyone's denomination or cultural affiliation.
So thankfulness is an expression of letting go of the negatives and
remembering to appreciate the positives in LIFE.

If LIFE is the same forces as God represents,
that's universal, regardless what you call it.