Insensitive, unintentionally

It is hard for me to be very sensitive to people who don't celebrate christmas and who push to say "happy holidays" rather than "merry christmas" or push for non-christmas iconography, etc. One might be surprised at this given that I was raised in such a strictly atheistic household and given that even as a kid I protested against things that were too religious (like refusing to be a girl scout due to needing to pledge to god, refusing to say the pledge of allegiance, and insisting that certain songs be removed from my elementary school's christmas pageant).

But, I think what is interesting is that my family celebrated christmas with huge fervor. Our christmas traditions and celebrations were an extremely important family ritual, and were completed dissociated from any religious meaning. Thus, I have come to see christmas as a cultural holiday, not a religious or even quasi-religious one. I also -- to my knowledge -- didn't know a single person who *didn't* celebrate christmas while I was growing up (even though it was a *very* diverse area). In our area of California, there were few Jewish people, so although I know about the Jewish religion (and as a kid, I was actually convinced my family was really Jewish), I never really understood that some/many Jewish people don't celebrate christmas. It actually wasn't until I moved to the city where I live now, where there are many Jewish people and people of other religions who don't celebrate, that I really grokked that. But still, my perception of christmas as more akin to Thanksgiving or Halloween or New Years persists.

This is odd to me because you would think I'd really be on the "Holiday" rather than "Christmas" bandwagon, but I'm not totally. I mean, I get it intellectually that people who don't celebrate christmas feel excluded and marginalized, and I don't think that is good at all. But at the same time, I think -- "Christmas is fun! Celebrate it too!" I mean, who wouldn't want a sparkly metallic tree with pink pom-pom sparkly ornaments, and eggnog (soynog), and christmas stockings, and christmas carols (especially French ones!), and Santa, and christmas eve appetizer-focused dinners (that's our family tradition), and reindeers, etc., etc. I feel badly that I am so insensitive.