Holiday lore

Tonight as I ran errands before my yoga class, I was listening to a local station playing X-mas music and they had this little segment asking kids if they know why we celebrate Christmas... of the 7 or 8 kids, one sited religious reasons, most though sited the need for new toys and the final little girl indicated Christmas was for celebrating presents. It was all meant to be innocent cute from children, but it brings me to my yearly conundrum over the whole "holiday" season... I like the tradition, I like the decorations, I like the idea of showing appreciation for those we love, I'm not even opposed to the idea of presents--I think presents are quite good, actually, consumerism in excess in the name holiday spirit, well, not so much. But essentially, Christmas, at its very root, is a religious celebration. Argue that the Christians took over a pagan celebration to convert the masses--I do when I have the energy and feel like pissing someone off--but not being Christian, nor Catholic (despite my upbringing) I have a sense of guilt (refer to the upbringing) of absconding the holiday and the traditions without the faith in the greater religious beliefs. I suppose I could hold fast to the concept that while the Winter Solstice was nabbed to ease the transition into Christianity, I am simply reclaiming the time of the year to celebrate that what nature has given us, recognizing that in some sense, we are all celebrating something that represents good; hope; peace; and community.