But now that I am raising children, I am conflicted. On one hand, I’d like my sons to have the same appreciation I had for Christmas observances. And, importantly, I don’t want them to feel entirely left out of the huge cultural presence Christmas has. But we are raising them Jewish (though not at all Conservative), so it is important to me to emphasize that.

With the crazy, O’Reilly-esque “war on Christmas” nonsense of recent years, I feel quite isolated and excluded, perhaps even resentful. Being inclusive does not equate to discrimination. Things like those (along with the misogyny of the Haredim and extreme Orthodox Jews) make me want to reject religion altogether. Maybe I’ll stick with the pagan aspects of Christmas.