Celebrating Christmas

I ESD RAISED WITHOUT RRELIGIOS INSTRUCTION, for which I thank the dear lord, and cherish my freedom and independence. Christmas, on the other hand, was somewhat forced down my throat. I have a very early childhood memory, I'm guessing I was anywhere from three to five, of a Christmas tree, decorated and brightly lit, and of it falling over on my sister, who as I recall sat under it, unhurt, but a bit upset. From an age earlier than I can remember the presents were under the tree, as if the whole thing were part of some tradition that had come into existence and been seriously adopted by my parents, before I had any say in in. I still love Christmas, and always have, despite my lack of traditional religious belief. I love the decoration, the decorations, the food, the parties, the presents; all of it. Receiving a veritable cornucopia of beautifully wrapped gifts each Christmas during childhood didn't do anything to dampen my enthusiasm for the holiday. It no longer matters to me the exact way in which I participate; to me, observing is a form of participation. The way we celebrate Christmas now, which is to go whole hog, is actually rather recent, not ancient, surprisingly. During my lifetime it hasn't changed much. But until the middle of the nineteenth century, Christmas was less visibly celebrated. During much of the eighteenth century, thanks to Puritanism, Christmas was illegal, because it was too much fun. When Dickens published "A Christmas Carol" in 1843, the holiday went viral, and the rest is history. Recently I've met a few people who, for some reason or another, do not celebrate Christmas. Interestingly, all these people are devoutly Christian, and their religion is the reason for their lack of celebration. One ole dude is so bible banging religious that he doesn't celebrate Christmas because there is nothing about it in the Bible. OK. fine. Ironic, since he is illiterate, and has never read the Bible himself. The family that oved in across the street from me is the nicest family in the world. A mom about my age and three grown sons. they lost their daddy within the past couple of years, and seem to be sticking together to get through that. We are friends, and help each other out. One day the mom mentioned to me that they do not celebrate Christmas, and that they are Jehovah's Witnesses. Isn't that the same thing as Mormons, or something? Similar. I really hadn't thought about whether they celebrate Christmas. Considering how much I enjoy Christmas, I would really hate to be prevented from celebrating it by something so trivial as my religious beliefs, but, oh well, their loss.