I was raised Conservative Jewish, but my parents were not at all religious. Pre-K I remember getting Christmas presents - from Santa - but no tree. They appeared at a door to the basement. After that we did Hanukah. When I got married I followed my wife’s family tradition which was totally secular with lots of presents. But a tree. Her father was an atheist. My kids and their husbands, all atheists, follow the same traditions. My grandson gets Hanukah and Christmas.
One good thing about being Jewish is that it is an excellent excuse to not put up any lights.
This year we stayed home due to Covid, and decided that a real tree was pointless, so we used a little fake tree.
“Come on down, children. We’ll have even more fun.”
As a bog standard American of atheist perceptions this describes my attitude to it perfectly.
It’s a commercial & social event dating back far more than 2000 years that a minority religious group have added some of their own overtones to.
Getting dinner tonight at a brewery that is hosting a deli food truck, featuring Christmastime-for-the-Jews sauce on their stuffed cabbage fried rice.
Except that they don’t. Even when I worked for a branch office of an American company, we never got Christmas off.
Japan does have lots more Christmas decorations than Taiwan, especially out in the sticks.
Japanese Christmas is more for couples than families, as it’s supposed to be really romantic and unlike Valentine’s Day, guys are supposed to buy girlfriends a present and take them to a nice restaurant.
Biblical scholars recently unearthed the fact that a potato knish and a bottle of Dr. Brown’s Cel-Ray were among the gifts offered to the Christ child.
I Still haven’t forgiven Dr. Brown for discontinuing Diet Cel-Ray.