Christmas day is a public holiday, and so is New Year's. It's also the end of the year when most people want to use up their paid time off. Nobody likes having a holiday on two Thursdays followed by work on Friday. Nor do we want to encourage people to carry vacation days to the next year. So we're happy to take the bulk time off at least, and it gives time for people to arrange school paperwork.

It is technically a sin in Islam to celebrate other religious holidays. Heck, if you want to go deep into the dogma, everything besides the two Eids shouldn't be celebrated and that includes Prophet Muhammad's birthday and New Year's. But you'll see very heated debates about this that I won't go into. Christmas lies in a weird place on this spectrum. Some say Abrahamic holidays are fine, some say most 'Islamic' holidays are blasphemy. People argue about the Santa hats too.

However, Christmas food is perfectly halal. Turkey, peppermint, non-alcoholic egg nog, various desserts. You'll see "end of year" dinners by Muslim restaurants that cater to this.

Culturally, many of us do have Christian family and friends. So it is a convenient time to meet family and just have an excuse to cook complex Western dishes once a year.

Gift giving is rare. You'll see secret Santa stuff at the workplace and in schools. 90% of people in the region do not have disposable income, so expensive gifts are frowned on, as they create pressure. Most are under $25, like fancy soap, snacks, chocolate, a power bank. There's also a culture where charity should be hidden, so stuff usually gets put in a box with no names and the boxes are pseudorandomly distributed.

Most people are somewhere between non militant atheists and “technically Christian but only see priests on weddings and funerals”.

People who complain about expressions like Mary Christmas and people who preach religious values are both really uncommon.

Kids want Santa, adults use the chance to get the family together, that’s about it.

On the other hand, the Christian (apocryphal) idea that hope came into the world on the (almost) darkest day of the year is beautiful to me. As well as the idea that some ancient Hebrews miraculously survived in a cave.

I also like the idea that the celebrations start with advent like they do in Germany or that there are “12 days of Christmas” ending with the epiphany, which is a real astronomical event which is part of the explanation of why Christians celebrate the day that they do. Tomorrow we’re just bumming around the house and getting ready for family to come on Dec 26 and might visit a friend who was born Dec 25 on Dec 25. Sometime in the 12 days we expect to organize a Hogswatch party to enjoy

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0765458/

Merely out of respect to all his legacy and positive influence that changed the world to a better place than it was before him.

I think that's true in many western countries.

Pride, Greed, Envy, Lust, Anger, Gluttony, Laziness. From the cited article:

> Pride. Pride is the will to omnipotence. It’s the greatest of sins, and yet it’s everywhere: big business and the elites impose their rules on the world, new technologies are increasingly transgressive (AI, transhumanism, space conquest, etc.), skyscrapers are being built ever taller, etc. In one way or another, the biggest companies reflect this pride.

> Greed. Greed is the excessive attachment to money, and the contemporary economy is based on the constant quest for profit. The accumulation of wealth, tax havens and excessive speculation are all modern forms of greed.

> Envy. Envy is a deep-seated vice: it means wanting what someone else has. These days, marketing and advertising constantly make us dream of other people’s lives, in a competition where everyone tries to compare themselves, without ever being satisfied with what they are and what they have. In particular, social networking platforms …

> Anger. But the modern economy, by creating the best and the worst, generates inhuman inequalities that arouse anger in everyone.

> Lust. Lust is the immoderate pursuit of sexual desire. The MindGeek company, which brings together the major platforms of the pornographic industry, including YouPorn, Pornhub, etc., is enjoying worldwide success.

> Gluttony. Gluttony, as we all know, is not a passing fancy. It’s a compulsive need for food pleasure. As the modern economy constantly pushes us to consume, it also pushes those who can afford it to eat non-stop…

> Laziness. Finally, laziness is not just weariness. It is the refusal of physical, moral and intellectual effort.

There you go. We are creating tools that even think for us.

So, only a few among us actually believe in the child’s message, and behave accordingly, (actions count, really they do) or at least try to. :-)

[0] https://julienchevalier.com/en/the-economy-of-the-7-deadly-s...