Reflections on Christmas

I enjoy going around responding to "Merry Christmas!" with one of my own but for me and, based on most of what I see around me - even in our relatively conservative part of the country - this is largely a seasonal holiday  (as it originally was anyway), in which families get together and retailers make their profits for the year. I, for one, would be delighted to see the materialism take a back seat to the religion. Maybe, if Christianity celebrated the birth of Jesus on or around his actual birthday (some time in May, I understand), the secular, seasonal (Solstice), winter/summer break could be enjoyed by all - and Christmas-in-May could be celebrated as the Christian event that it is - and, in the process, shake off the heathen Christmas tree and the Coca-Cola Father Christmas -  and perhaps leave behind one carol to sing on The Feast of Steven: Good King Wenceslas.