holiday spirit.

this time of year is often very conflicted for me.
it is such a confusing cloud of religion, consumerism and materialism.
although very loosely raised a lutheran, i don't hold any real attachment to christianity now. there was a time when i looked to find a religion that "fit" my beliefs but i never found much success.
basically, i believe that our job "here" is to be happy, live simply and improve life around us in whatever small way we can manage. respect everything and everyone's beliefs even if they seem to conflict with your own.
that's it. no judgments, threats, obligations, punishments, ceremonies, preaching, conversions, praying, idols, special hats, etc.
having said that, i respect christmas and what the core value of it is. but generally i don't think that christmas is about jesus for most folks who celebrate it. it's about the rush to buy stuff and show love through being a consumer.
does this stuff enrich us? does it make us happier? most importantly, does the stuff even matter?
it seems a bit twisted to me.
certainly, i am not even addressing the fact that the united states is a multicultural nation where not everyone is a christian (face it! it's not a bad thing!!!). and that by adopting christmas as a nationally celebrated holiday, we are unofficially adopting christianity as our unofficial religion. and that throwing in hanukkah is a very token attempt to be open minded. and that still ignores the multitude of other religions that exist. well, you get the point...
bah humbug, right?