Well, the commercialism part is that we are living in a state of essentially unfettered capitalism. Nothing more can be expected than all deeper meaning be squeezed out of life. The happy celebration part is from time immemorial. The winter solstice is a bleak time in all northerly countries. Dark and cold, and the prospect of more of the same for a good long while. Yule, the northern European solstice celebration, and Saturnalia, the Roman version, were all about drunken revelry. That is why Christmas was outlawed in Puritan England and in the Puritan colonies. Originally the gifting tradition was part Christian charity (Boxing Day was for giving alms and rewarding servants on Epiphany, echoing the Magi giving gifts to the Christ Child) and part children’s holiday (St. Nicholas Day was when small gifts were given to children; he was noted for anonymous gifts).
Not really. One gets beaten over the head with it (generally only figuratively, at least.)
They’re tangled up together. And there are plenty of people out here loudly celebrating “Real Christmas.”
Ignoring it’s pretty much impossible.
At least, around here – this is one of many cases in which I wish people would put their general location in their profile. I’ve no idea where you are; while it may have been mentioned somewhere on the boards I can’t keep track.
I celebrate a midwinter mishmosh, generally with people who are doing the same; and I don’t complain when some of what those people do is explicitly Christian as long as they don’t complain that some of what we do explicitly isn’t. But telling us that we should ignore the religious aspects of the holiday, or the existence of the holiday at all, does not work. If all everybody wanted was a secular party in the middle of winter, the commotion would all be about New Year’s.
Ignoring it doesn’t mean going blind to what goes on around you. You can stop letting it affect you. There are plenty of annoying things that the public does, I managed to not let Christmas bother me any more than I am bothered by people who think soccer is a sport or put pineapple on pizza.