AJD over at The Virginia Progressive presents a liberal argument for Christmas in culture:
I would argue that Christmas has moved beyond it’s religious origins and into a similar place in our society. We don’t just gather to remember the birth of a man, but instead to remember the importance of family and friendship in our society. It is a time to remember those people who stood next to us, proudly, in our darkest times; who helped us when we stumbled, and cheered for us when we soared. It is a time to celebrate that, as individuals, we falter and stumble, but as a community we can rise up and become so much better.
This shouldn’t serve as a means to put down the holiday traditions of other religious, be it Hanukah, Kwanza, or Ramadan (which I realize didn’t fall along the traditional holiday season this year, but is still an all important time for American Muslims). But Christmas has, for better or worse, become an American tradition that crosses religious boundaries. Christmas is as much about the Macy’s Parade as the Midnight Mass, and as much about gift giving to family and friends as God’s gift to the world in his only son.
Christmas as culture. I couldn’t have said it any better myself.