But then it's not *Christmas*, right? It's just 'the holidays' or something to that effect, and it sounds absurd to me that an atheist, for example, would celebrate Christmas meaning that they'd exchange gifts and would have a party, without anything related to Christ.
Yes, it is Christmas. It's just a secular Christmas - ie, you celebrate certain aspects of the religious festival because you respect and agree with the spirit they seek to embrace. This is what my Christian parents gave to me, and for which I'm very grateful: I live by many Christian values even though I'm an aetheist, because I believe they're generally a good way to live a life that's courteous, generous of spirit, and respectful of other people's beliefs and values.
So I reserve the right to celebrate Christmas and call it Christmas, even though I don't believe in the Christmas story. Heck, I can even sing Christmas carols with conviction, because the tunes and harmony are so wonderful - Christmas has inspired some truly great compositions and arrangements over the years.
Yvonne
