Jimmy C, I quote you here: I also don't see why you feel that you are getting Christmas "shoved down your throat". you have the freedom to ignore that which you don't want. What do you expect from a nation that is considered a christian country. The reason I feel it's being shoved down my throat is that everywhere I go, there is Christian Christmas music, every show I watch has Christian Christmas commercials, my office does Christmas stuff and as I'm on the morale team, I actually have to help plan it (albeit that they allow me to voice my opposition, they then ignore it), were I to attempt to ignore this I'd have to hibernate. I don't see any Freedom From this stuff available. Also, it's the very fact that this country is CONSIDERED TO BE Christian that is why we continue to be attacked by these particular anti-Christians. But I have news for them, which I think you already know by how you phrased your post - THIS IS NOT NOT NOT NOT a Christian country! It was founded expressly to allow for ANY RELIGION (or none). In the early days of treaties with the Middle East, George Washington made it very clear that it was OK to be on our side because this was NOT a Christian nation. What burns me (hmmm, how could you tell?) is the ASSUMPTION that we are Christians, and considering us Christian no matter what we say/do. I once put "none" on a form under Religion while we were still overseas, only to have it CHANGED BY THE ADMINISTRATION to Protestant (as it was KNOWN that ALL Americans are Protestant). Needless to say, we (my parents and I) protested, probably just confirming their suspicions!

MMario, I TAKE the 26th off, it's not given by my firm. My sisters who work for the gubmint get it off, though, I think.

Mothglitter, I will resist with every cell in my body the notion that just because we celebrate whateverthe***, as Spaw said, ON Christmas Day, that we are then by definition celebrating Christmas. That's like saying if your birthday party is 2/14 you're really celebrating Valentine's Day, so I do not agree with that point. But I did like the idea of topping a star with a tree, you should have let that lie, hee hee!

SharonA, thanks for answering JimmyC about why the logistics, I wasn't going to go over all that again!