Don’t get me wrong, I love Christmas. All the decorations and spirit are so exciting, and presents are an awesome bonus as well. But if you really think about it, it’s kind of peculiar how big of an event Christmas is. 

Christmas is, of course, a Christian holiday, and Christianity is huge. Not just in America, but everywhere really. Of course, there are those who celebrate Christmas religiously, but there are also countless people who don’t. Even people of other religions celebrate Christmas, like me for example. I’m Jewish, and I celebrate Jewish holidays. I have never been to church once in my life, yet I still love Christmas and celebrate it every year with a tree and lights, and I’m not the only one. 

Christmas is huge in American culture if there is such a thing. Yet no one seems to bat an eye. I just find it kind of weird that although Christmas originated as the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, nowadays, so many people celebrate it without even thinking about what it means.

It’s not the only holiday that is celebrated without a real reason to celebrate though. I don’t even know the history behind Easter, yet I’ll still decorate eggs, or Halloween, which is purely just an excuse to dress up and eat candy. I’m not complaining though, I love Halloween. 

Christmas is just this huge celebration of what? What are most of us celebrating? Nothing. It’s just something that happens year after year, and nobody thinks twice. Taking a walk through my neighborhood is like going to the zoo lights. Stores have sales and fill up their inventory with Christmas themed items. New York City has a 75-foot tree that they put up and decorate each year.

Now I know this all sounds like a complaint, but it’s not. As I said, I absolutely love Christmas. I love the Rockefeller tree, and I love all the colorful lights and decorations so much. All I’m saying is, isn’t it just a little strange, that each year during the month of December, America collectively turns into a decked out, festive wonderland to celebrate an originally religious holiday, except we get rid of the religious part? 

If you celebrate Christmas, stop and think about why. Do you celebrate it for religious reasons, or just for fun?