Growing up Jewish I've often felt left out at Christmas. I celebrate the Solstice and the pagan origins for the holiday season -- most every celebration in December is all about honoring light during the darkest time with hopes for the future and the coming spring. In that way I feel a connection. The Christmas tree, the Yule log -- all pagan in origin.

Tim Minchin said it all. He wrote this song when his daughter was born.
It covers so much in one song its amazing!

Don't really celebrate it... although I do sometimes take advantage of the sales before and after the holidays.

I wouldn't exactly say I love it, but it doesn't bother me. I think the decorations and schmaltzy music is kind of pleasant actually, even if I don't really participate myself.

Our big family holiday is Thanksgiving, because it's a long weekend off for everyone and my wife's kids generally spend Christmas with their biological father. So we're usually alone at Christmas; even my stepson, who lives with us, tends to decamp for his Dad's place for a week or so. My wife and I have a pact not to buy each other gifts. An exchange of cards and mailing out 3 or 4 cards to key relatives or clients is about all we feel obliged to do. So when it comes to Christmas, we're in "we walk among them, but are not of them" territory. It's a peaceful time of year with very low expectations. It's "the most wonderful time of the year" for that reason. Even my client's client's are mostly shut down and there's usually nothing I have to do, work-wise. Very low-stress all the way.

Yup ?‍

Christmas is just a word, call it what ever you like, a celebration of the end of one year and the birth of another that centers around a time of being nice to one another and celebrating family and love, is AOK by me.
Plus I love getting to cook a big ass dinner for everyone highlight of my year.

NO. Luckily, here in Thailand, they don't celebrate it, but have months of celebrating New Year; the regular one on Jan. 1, the Chinese New Year, and the Thai New Year in April..which involves a country-wide waterfight on the hottest day of the year.

I have always loved Christmas, always been my favorite! I'll keep celebrating it just like I'll keep hiding eggs on Easter for my kids!