Many do; some don’t. However, as atheists do not believe in the existence of a god, they usually only participate in the non-religious aspects of Christmas, such as gift-giving, having a Christmas Tree, and eating a roast lunch.
Christmas is known as a Christian festival. It’s even right there in the name: ‘Christ-mas’ – which is from Old English Cristes mæsse [1] – it literally means ‘Christ’s mass’, and is the mass (gathering, service) to celebrate the birth of Christ (Jesus of Nazareth).
For Christians, celebrating Christmas involves activities such as going to a Christmas Day service, or going to Midnight Mass, and retelling the story of the birth of Jesus, as well as things such as gift-giving, eating a roast lunch, and singing carols.
Many countries in the Western World have been predominantly Christian for a long time, so many atheists in those countries have grown up around Christian traditions. As such, many like to continue participating in those traditions, but without the religious aspects of them. This is why many atheists celebrate Christmas.
Are you a hypocrite if you’re an atheist who celebrates Christmas?
No. While Christmas is seen as a Christian festival, Christians do not have exclusive rights to celebrations on the Twenty-fifth of December.
Celebrations have taken place at this time of year in much of Europe long before the spread of Christianity. This time of year was known as Geola (pronounced a bit like ‘yolla’) to the Anglo-Saxons – a word which still survives in Modern English as ‘Yule’. The Romans had a festival at this time of year called Saturnalia (which was named after the Roman god Saturn (after which the day of the week and the planet are also named)).
References
- The Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com/word/Christmas#etymonline_v_28081 (Accessed: 2023.08.28)