I think that it is important to keep Christmas religious; that Hanukkah is an important Jewish tradition (the miracle of the oil burning, which I think has been distorted – but ththat is true of most if not all religious stories); and that Kwanzaa is a made-up collectivist celebration of racism occluded by political correctness.

This should not be used to exclude atheists or agnostics from the season. I can accept a certain amount of secular cheer, observing others’ traditions in respectful manner, etc. Where I tend to get upset is when there IS an “assault” on religion. Most of this country was settled by those of WASP countries, with some Jews, Catholics, Shintoists, Taoists, and probably athesits and agnostics thrown in for good measure. The “backbone” was Christian (even Protestant), though – and that is what allowed the country to grow and prosper. Take a look at the Jefferson Bible, for example. Thomas Jefferson was not the only one who “adjusted” the Bible to his beliefs, either. John Adams suposedly did as well, and I’d expect that Washington, Franklin, etc did as well. It meets the Protestant birth-pattern, anyway. ;-)

I have pagan friends (Wiccans; their word, not mine, I would’ve said Wicks), Jewish friends, Christian and Catholic friends; most of them are secular, not religious, and I’d guess overall I fall into that grouping, too. I don’t have much faith in “Mother Church”, and even less in the leadership of said fallen POLITICAL institution. Examples such as St. Patrick driving out the “snakes” (Druids) from Ireland comes to mind, not to mention the Church history of multiple Popes, excommunication of leaders who didn’t bow to Papal authority, etc. The Church wanted to control the world, too. It was a human institution. How much do you trust the government?
Look at how people obey the law, you’ll see similar trends. Amish come to mind, with a TV hidden in the barn… Speeding, petty theft, parking violations, etc. Nothing big, merely indicative of how people relly obey “the law”, whether it be a King, the “King of Kings”, or some public-service slug with a Napolean complex.

But Christmas? That’s the REASON we have a “Holiday (HOLY-day) Season.” Yule, Solstice, Christmas, Hanukkah, these have meaning. Most Americans don’t know what Yule is, or that it was actually FOBIDDEN to research the date of Christ’s birth for a long time, or what Hanukkah is about. (And most don’t know much about Kwanzaa for a reason – they is WHITE! ;-) )
Yet they call themselves Christians, in spite of the whole thing. They go to mass, pay their tithe, listen to a piss-poor sermon admonishing men to be better providers and women to take more time for themselves, and they come out and do ungodly things to each other, from committing murder in their hearts, to adultery in both heart, mind, and sometimes the neighbor’s bedroom, to slander, to vandalism, to actual murder even, and never blink over the cognitive dissonance their professed morality should cause.

These same people are often the hardliners who want to insist everyone ELSE accept Jesus as their saviour, and remember Jesus is the Reason for the Season, etc. Hypocritical to say the least…

If the Russians could keep Catholicism alive untilt he fall of the Soviet Union… Why has it fallen apart here, in the land of plenty?
Because there IS plenty. More than enough, even. “Where wealth accumulates, Men decay.” Kipling, IIRC, and it was true then, and before, and now. We are seeing it in many fronts – the entitlement mentality of women, the Christians enforcing wrong morality (Do as I say, not as I do), the dissolution of youth, disrespect for elders, complete lack of caring for or about history… I do not blame people for getting upset, I just wish they’d do it for the RIGHT REASONS.

I shuold not have to NOT put up a Christmas (Religious, at that) display, because you MIGHT get offended. OTOH, shuold some Muslim be offended and take issue by destroying it or defacing my house, that property crime should be pursued by the police. (Destruction of property makes for bad neighborly relations.) Same is true in reverse – I shouldn’t be interrupting a Widdershins dance to proselytize to you about how evil you are, or the wrongful nature of it, etc. (We’ll leave aside how interrupting the ritual is no-class behavior, and the property damage issue. Stealing your athame might be more accurate, but suggests B&E, which is a crime of different magnitude due to the home invasion.)

Perhaps we rellay SHOULD be mroe tolerant of each other. Wish the Jews a Happy Hannukah. Wish pagans a cool yule. (Although I feel sick using that phrasing.) You want non-religious displays on town square? OK! No problem. Inclusive? Sure! Yule log can burn next to the German-rooted Christmas tree, with a menorah next to it, or maybe a spinning dreidl (menorah being explicitly religious, dreidl not as much). I’d even be OK with a Kwanzaa candleabra. (We know who to lynch then…. Just kidding. mostly…) As long as it’s not harmful to the society, and we DO respect each other, and try to udnerstand the differences while focusing on our common bonds, it’s great. Like your paper angel tree topper, or my (Jewish) friend Lori’s Hanukkah bush… It ties the past and present to the future, keeps the memories alive.

Shoving it in everyone’s face is no different from the Pride parades (which I think most peopel would prefer to miss), or the Vietnam-era war protests, even. We want to focus on what brings us together, not what divides us.

Speaking of which – Might I suggest you do a piece, from the pagan perspective, on forced religious instruction in public schools? Specifically, it’s Islamic instruction in New Jersey Public Schools. Teaching about the forgiving Christ is verbotten, but teaching about the pedarest and bandit Mohammed (Piss be upon him) is not? Anyone else see the fundamental disconnect with that “Wall of Separation” between church and state? As I’m Catholic, I’d be seen as too anti-Islamic simply because I showed up. But maybe someone who does NOT have an axe to grind could be seen as objective. Now, if these classes were offered as a series of events – one year being Buddhist, one being pagan, one being Christian, one being Muslim – I’d have no big issue. It’s the violation of the progressive left’s arguments that bothers me most (I want a clear answer, ’cause if it’s religion in the public schools – well, we can’t be EXCLUSIONARY, can we? We can kvetch about the conversion issues later.)

Sorry for rambling so much.

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[In answer to the question of whether it is appropriate for an atheist to celebrate Christmas:]

Yes, of course. A national holiday, in this country, cannot have an exclusively religious meaning. The secular meaning of the Christmas holiday is wider than the tenets of any particular religion: it is good will toward men—a frame of mind which is not the exclusive property (though it is supposed to be part, but is a largely unobserved part) of the Christian religion.

The charming aspect of Christmas is the fact that it expresses good will in a cheerful, happy, benevolent, non-sacrificial way. One says: “Merry Christmas”—not “Weep and Repent.” And the good will is expressed in a material, earthly form—by giving presents to one’s friends, or by sending them cards in token of remembrance . . . .

The best aspect of Christmas is the aspect usually decried by the mystics: the fact that Christmas has been commercialized. The gift-buying . . . stimulates an enormous outpouring of ingenuity in the creation of products devoted to a single purpose: to give men pleasure. And the street decorations put up by department stores and other institutions—the Christmas trees, the winking lights, the glittering colors—provide the city with a spectacular display, which only “commercial greed” could afford to give us. One would have to be terribly depressed to resist the wonderful gaiety of that spectacle.

The Objectivist Calendar, Dec. 1976.