lithium.jelly said:
Christmas, under a variety of names, has been a religious event for at least four thousand years, probably longer. Christianity is a relative newcomer to the whole midwinter feast/celebration idea.
This. What started as Celtic pagan rituals that celebrated the winter solstice was appropriated by the Romans, who wanted to implement Christianity while still giving some leeway to the few remaining proponents of solar religions in the Empire. Ever wonder where the halos behind or on top of the heads of saints comes from? It's a direct send-off not only to Mithra, which was the one deity whose worship they were actively trying to absorb into Christendom; but also to Egyptian religious iconography.
As for Christmas being on the 25th, that was a date that was retconned by the Roman Emperor to coincide with something that has to do with Emperor Justinian, I think. His birth or his death, I just don't remember.
In short, just as the Bible is essentially a political tool, the elaboration of Christmas' religious significance is also an element of political intervention.
So, OP, Christmas has always been religious, in one form or another. We've all been fooled into thinking it has a non-denominational level of significance because of the last few centuries' progressive consumerism and, believe it or not, Coca-Cola. They're the ones who commissioned someone to come up with a design for a take on Santa Claus that would be more jolly than your average Saint Nicolas.
In fact, Saint Nicolas isn't only a saint, but he's a direct send-off to druids, with his white, Gandalf-esque beard and his white robes. Santa Claus is something of an Expy of another Expy, in a sense.
And then, with the decline of religious influence since the fifties, Christmas has become something more akin to a celebration of consumerism with a few nicey-nice additions concerning being with your family, sharing a meal, giving instead of receiving for a change, etc.
