Blue Christmas

I think the aim of this is to acknowledge that Christmas is really prevalent in American culture, regardless of whether you're personally of the Christ-following persuasion. I'm not Christian, but I do get invited to Christmas stuff every year, and I'd be lonely if I weren't.

Unless someone is very connected to another culture, it doesn't really work to just say, "well, I don't celebrate Christmas, so it doesn't affect me that today is Christmas and I'm home alone with a TV dinner." Think about how many Jews get together on Christmas for Chinese food and whatnot. We aren't celebrating Christ's birth, but we are getting together in community on an American federal holiday. Jews who don't have friends to do "un-Christmas" stuff with often report feeling lonely.

A lot of churches and temples do interfaith events, which usually just mean that multiple perspectives are acknowledged and accepted. It often means that the sponsoring faith group is particularly welcoming to families who are intermarried, or people who are lapsed or questioning, and they want people to know they aren't pressuring anyone and the purpose of the event is about community, not about any certain expectation of beliefs. It doesn't mean that it's faith-neutral or faith-free.

http://1smootshort.blogspot.com