Christians celebrate Christmas.

Most of the world isn't Christian. They have no reason to celebrate Christmas. They celebrate holidays and observances according to their religions and their beliefs.

The Hindu's big holiday is Diwali, the festival of light. This was last month. I learned about it because there's a section of my neighborhood with a high concentration of Indians. When there's a high concentration of any one culture, you can't help but notice (like Christians in the western world).

It's a coincidence that many observances are in December. The Christians moved their celebration of the birth of Christ to December centuries ago to convert these many people, then adapted many of their practices to show "see? It's so similar to yours. We do that too".

Those of the Earth Religions (pagan, Wiccan, and otherwise. These originate from farmers, who relied on the change of seasons) celebrate Yule on the Winter Solstice, and that's where your Christmas tree and cookies came from, not to mention the conversion of ancient Celtic tunes into carols. Many still observe Yule, a dwindled bunch after centuries of assimilation, social chastising, and massacre. It is the celebration of Earth 's rebirthing; their cycle of seasons puts Samhain (Oct 31) as the end of Harvest, and the upper hemisphere undergoing a figurative death. The day varies each yr. Check your calendar for Solstice or first day of winter.

Jews celebrate Chanukah (or Hanukah for those lacking in gutteral pronounciations), a minor holiday which commemorates a civil war incident in the Holy Land. It's likely the giving of gifts was added to deter people from being lured by the temptation of Christianity (and ironically the practices it garnered from the pagans and earth religions). Chanukah starts sundown this Sunday and goes for 8 days.

Kwanzaa I am not too familiar with. It is a recently developed observance, and not so much religion as cultural. It serves to bring inspiration, strength, and a sense of family to African Americans. Each night a candle is lit a la Hanukah, and an aspect essential to betternment is the focus for that day. But you should look it up to learn more. It appears to be 5 days between Christmas & New Year's.

The Muslims, like the Jews, live by a lunar calendar rather than a solar one, so their Ramadan festival varies from year to year in actual date. This involves a period of fasting, prayer, and reflection, and ends in a great celebration (called Eid for end). We have many Pakistanis in the same area where the Indians have their establishments, so we see the Eid sales hit the stores at that time. Eid appears to be under way - or it seems to be if the stores are any indication.

I don't think the Buddhists celebrate anything at this time.

Everyone's religion is right. Every one of them is an important part of their lives. Christianity isn't the only thing on the planet, just the most common one in some areas. So if you're in that area it is what you know.

Many non-Christians have to observe the superficial observances to avoid scrutiny and discrimination where they live. Some of the greatest Christmas pop songs are written by Jews, but notice they're about the season and not the religion (White Christmas is a prime example). When you wonder why all this hoopla about the holiday's gifts and tree and commercialism, keep in mind that this is to attract people of other religions to the holiday.

That's why Season's Greetings is said, and that's why people discuss Holiday cookies and not Christmas cookies. These are verbally inclusive (and like I said, these originated from another culture's religion anyway).

Now you're on the Internet. The demographics are a little different here. It's not your neighborhood or the nation, but the entire world. The Internet is a big place, with so many wonderful cultures we can learn from, but most of all respect. If you make tons of Christmas ones, you exclude a very many people participating in your online activities, who are compelled not to say anything out of experience.