I intended to mean that if you’re not 100% in any camp, you lean toward one more than to the others. I did write ‘Choosing this option means Christmas, to you, is more about…’ but I had a feeling I wasn’t being clear. I did not mean that the options were exclusive.
If it’s ‘not so much religious’, then the option would be ‘Ho, Ho, Ho’. 
I’ve cycled through all of them. Growing up in an aggressively secular house, it was entirely presents and cookies and relatives (in that order of importance). I converted to Catholicism in my thirties so with the typical zeal of the convert we did the Advent Ring, O Antiphons, Midnight Mass, creche, Epiphany – and a tree and stockings and presents and relatives and food and cookies.
That was a long time ago, so long that my convert zeal, along with my energy, has dwindled to presents for my very immediate family and the vigil Mass. I did get a tree because one needed cutting in my yard that was the right size, and have drug out the creche because of my daughter’s deep affection for it (we made all the inhabitants out of clay together, back when I had a kiln). I don’t have a lot of feeling for the holiday any more in the religious sense (as opposed to Easter, the original Christian holy day), but I love the religious hymns and noels. Probably my highlight is the community Handel’s Messiah sing at my church.
I do appreciate the distraction of lights and music and bustle and sugar and warm alcoholic beverages at the darkest time of year far more now when I live in New England than when I was a Californian.
I am an agnostic, leaning atheist. I have a lot of issues that make Christmas a stressful time for me. I have depression that gets worse when it’s cold and dark and part of my depression experience at the holiday season is an even greater amount of social anxiety than normal. So the family get togethers are a chore. Thankfully, my family has drifted away from the gift exchanging. That was always a burden to me, not financially but because I would stress too much about it. I loathe most Christmas music, but people at work are cranking it and it’s never anything I want to hear. I usually have Christmas Eve through New Years day off from work and many of my favorite NPR shows are repeats or holiday themed stuff I’m not interested in. Television is constant Christmas stuff, anything I would want to watch pre-empted by holiday programming or reruns. Also, work (the days I’m not off) is usually crazy at this time of year too.
I’m always relieved when Christmas/New Years is over.
I voted Bollocks.
I grew up in a very conservative Mormon household. Interestingly, Jesus wasn’t really big part of my family’s brand of Mormonism, as Joseph Smith was the main character.
Christmas wasn’t particularly a religious festival in our house. Mormons don’t have a service on Christmas itself, unless the holiday falls on a Sunday. They have special Christmas programs, but it sounds like other churches emphasis the religious aspect more.
When I used to visit with my sister and her family at Christmas, her husband would always give a really long prayer before the Christmas dinner. (In which he would inevitably say something really stupid and his daughter and I would be biting our tongues to keep from laughing.) I don’t remember anything like that at my home.
Other than the early 2000s when I visited my sister, I’ve been out of America for Christmas since 1989. Japan has a scaled down version of Christmas with decorations in stores, music and such, but the small city I live in Taiwan has almost none. My kids really got into Santa, but they are 10 and 8 now, and my daughter is pretending to believe, but isn’t showing the same enthusiasm of previous years. My son is still very much a believer.
For me, Christmas is family time, similar to Thanksgiving. It’s when the whole family gets to spend time together doing fun things. That includes going to church, reading stories, singing songs, playing games and cards, cruising for lights, feasting, sledding. On Christmas Day itself, the rule was we didn’t leave home and no television.
I prefer Adeste Fideles in the original Latin, and Stille Nacht in the original German. I don’t know how common it was, but that’s how the congregation in Ohio I grew up with sang them. No longer, as the older immigrant generations died off.
I don’t consider myself christian despite having been raised in a christian home, and the midwinter solstice season for me is about being with loved ones / family, good food, cozy fireplaces and pleasant warm and cold intoxicating beverages, joy and celebration.
Definitely NOT Santa Claus, Rudolph, and crass commercial shit, but also not virgins getting knocked up by god and giving birth.
Be the latter as it may, I love the majority of christmas carols. They’re pretty. Be THAT as it may, I don’t love them because they’re sacred and not secular christmas music. I also love Wassail Wassail All Over the Town and Carol of the Bells and several other good songs that aren’t christian (or weren’t originally at any rate). But not that jingle bells / this christmas / holly jolly christmas shit. I want the songs to be beautiful and moving.
Voted But I’m…
I grew up as a Methodist, but became and atheist. So have a certain Sentimental attachment to some the the religious carols and candle light services, and find the crass commercialism of the season off putting, but its more an personal aesthetic preference than actually caring about Jesus.
I was born, raised, and still live in a Christian household, and I consider myself spiritual… “liberal Christian”, I guess. I’ve always celebrated Christmas as the birth of Jesus. When I was younger, we had big present-openings on Christmas Day; not so much anymore, but Mom and I usually give one gift to each other. I also mail out Christmas cards to my dad and my sister, who no longer live with us. And I try to get my sister something I know she’ll like for Christmas.
It’s always been more a religious than secular holiday for me, and that’s the way I like it. But I certainly don’t mind the presents (both giving and receiving), eggnog, tree, decorations, music, etc.
Ditto. Now that the church has moved the day school Christmas program off of the Christmas Eve service it is better. Man I hated that. 2-3 kids in the program that ended about 9:30 then there’d be cake and ice cream and then the drive home to bed for them so Santa would come. Sugar load kids on Christmas Eve. Who ever thought that was a good idea? We weren’t members at the time and with the school program (graded)[sup]+[/sup] we couldn’t go to our church for a more traditional candle service. Now we as a family usher the last service of the day.
[sup]+[/sup]graded as in the child was required to partake in 3 “special” services during the year.
I am Christian but I have so many friends who aren’t so I mostly adopt the secular aspects while reveling in the religious undertones they represent.
In my family it was about equally split between Ho Ho Ho and O Come, so difficult to choose. For myself, today, definitely on the Ho end of the spectrum but, thinking we were talking about family heritage here I voted choice 2 before reading the OP’s rules. So I guess the poll is ruined; ruined, I tell you.