In case I have to explain, just look at a few of these items from December 25, 2003:

* Israel missile attack in Gaza kills 5 Palestinians

Medical sources at Shiffa Hospital said the emergency roomreceived the bodies of the 5 Palestinians and 60 other woundedpeople. [Fused words in original]

* Israeli media: Blast near Tel Aviv kills at least 3

Thursday's blast came soon after Israel launched a helicopter strike in Gaza, killing five people and injuring 14 others, Palestinian security and medical sources told CNN.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said that among those killed in the air strike was the target of the raid, Maklad Hamid. The IDF said he was a leader of the Al Quds Brigade, the military wing of Islamic Jihad.

* Rockets hit central Baghdad

Washington blames attacks on Saddam Hussein supporters and foreign Islamic militants. Officials had warned insurgents would launch spectacular attacks during the Christmas holiday season.

...

"This is a regular day for us," said U.S. First Lieutenant Kurt Muniz, as he led several soldiers on a foot patrol in the area.

* Pakistan Leader Survives Deadly Bombings

Musharraf appeared calm in an interview on state-run television about seven hours after the attack, saying the attempt was the work of misguided "extremists."

"I was the target," Musharraf said, clad in a navy blue business suit. "We must fight against them and cleanse the country of these extremists. These are cowardly people, but my resolve is strong and I have total faith in God."

* The World is Too Much With Us: Christmas Under Bush

I then thought of our born-again Christian President [sic], who spoke last week of his blood lust for the life of Saddam Hussein. Because he was such an evil man, and tried to kill his Daddy, you know. He ought to die. It is only right and just. Right and just?

...

I think of the constant mantra that Bush and our "leaders" spout about this being a great Christian nation. How Christianity is woven into the very fabric of what it means to be American.

...

Better that we profess our evil, as do governments like those of Korea and China, and govern and rule honestly as despots, than that we hide under the guise of Christianity and democracy.

So, Bah humbug on the Bush administration and all the evil it has perpetuated on the world this year. [Purposely removed from the context which sets out to make Christianity a wonderful thing]

Here's another from December 23:

* Religion divides new Europe at birth

[I]n Spain, the ethical message in a predominantly Catholic society is being reinforced after the Spanish authorities issued an official paper last week pinning their colors firmly to the mast in placing religious instruction in schools on a par with other subjects such as mathematics.

The foreword to the program, which will become law next year, does not mince its words in stressing the need for religious instruction in school -- preferably of a Catholic nature.

Students of other faiths -- or atheists -- will also receive up to three hours a week of religious instruction, but only in the context of the "history of religions" taught by history and philosophy professors.

Previously, such students would study ethics or other activities whose content was largely left to a school's discretion.

Catholic students, the government estimates, have a duty to "know the love of Jesus Christ" and trumpet the "values of marriage" as part of a program laid down for state schools to follow closely alongside the basics of reading, writing and arithmetic.

"An integrated, and thus quality, education cannot exist unless all of a human being's inherent capacities, including the spiritual, are developed," says the text.

More specifically, "a pupil is going to discover [their spiritual capacity] in the language of the Bible, in Christian models of identification and notably in the presence of Jesus Christ," says the text, which also implicitly recommends Catholicism as the path to follow.

[All emphasis mine]

No wonder certain people I know get the "holiday blues." I'm fortunate enough to not be surrounded by people who would shove the "holiday spirit" ("If you're not with us, you must be against us!") down my throat. I maintain the same philosophy throughout the entire year, independent of holidays. So Merry Everything and Happy Always to all the good people out there who don't need a religion or "holy book" or "holy day" to tell them the difference between right and wrong or to force them to do things for others without necessarily benefitting themselves.