The influence of Christianity in this country is such that Christmas became something that Hanukkah never became, a civil, as well as a religious festival. As a civil festival it has become a celebration of generosity, and a reminder — little heeded I suppose — that the world needs more, not less generosity and compassion.
As a religious festival it is the celebration of the birth of Jesus, something that would be of interest only to Christians. For better or worse, and some say better and some say worse, the civil festival is gradually overtaking the religious festival in importance. Indeed, the evidence is that this battle was over a long time ago, and all that is happening now is the mopping up. How many people even identify Santa Claus with a Christian Saint who lived in what is now Turkey? Madison Avenue in fact has done what Christians themselves did nearly 1,700 years ago, latch onto a popular festival and turn it into something entirely different. Christians turned the solstice festivals of the Roman Empire into the celebration of Christmas, and Madison Avenue has turned Christmas into a commercial bonanza that celebrates giving. Still, I don’t think Christians need to worry about that. We Christians can celebrate Christmas as it has been done since the fourth century, and the world can do what the world wants to do. It is going to be that anyway. So yes, it OK for non-Christians to celebrate Christmas. Who are we to tell them they can’t do what we once did?
