It is interesting to speculate, though, about the origins of this push for more Christ and Christianity in public celebrations of Christmas. Obviously, the birth of Christ must be the center of the holiday for every believing Christian, and those Christians are free to celebrate what they consider the sacred aspects of the holiday in their homes and churches, with friends and family. But that's not enough for the purveyors of what I call religious correctness (which actually has a good deal in common with political correctness). What the religiously correct want is a celebration of the birth of Jesus in public schools and in government ceremonies. This is not about religious belief but about power: by forcing specific beliefs into the public square, you're making a statement to Jews, Muslims, and other minorities that, "You people make think you're Americans, or Englishmen, but this is still a Christian nation."

The annual brouhaha over Christmas is very much like the bickering over putting up Ten Commandments monuments in courthouses and on public lands: it is about ownership rather than faith. It is about saying, "You may have freedom of conscience under our system, but we Christians are still in charge here." (I should say that I have borrowed this idea from the distinguished On Faith panelist Martin E. Marty, a serious Lutheran who made remarks to this effect on an American Library Association panel where we discussed the separation of church and state.

I also think it's interesting that this particular comment about the Christian ownership of Christmas comes from England, a much more secular place than the United States (even though it still has an established church). But only a tiny minority of English Christians, according to public opinion polls, are regular churchgoers. I suspect that the more secular people become, the more aggressive the devout minority becomes in trying to claim pride of place in the public square.

What kind of craziness actually makes people argue about whether to say "Happy Holidays" or "Merry Christmas?" As even Mike Huckabee (the genius who implied that Mormons believe Jesus and the devil are brothers) must know, people of almost every tribe and religion have a holiday around the winter solstice. I don't believe that the baby Jesus was born of a virgin on Christmas, but I don't get all uppity when someone says "Merry Christmas" to me. Why should anyone in this country be upset if someone says "Happy Holidays" instead? In cities like New York, the streets are full of Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, and atheists, of varying degrees of observance or nonobservance. "Happy Holidays" works for everyone. Imagine having the time or the inclination to worry about such trivialities instead of worrying about war and poverty and global warming. Or even whether you're going to be able to scrape up enough money for Christmas-Winter Solstice-Holiday tips.

I guess that nauseating secular carol--the one constantly assuring us that "it's the most wonderful time of the year"--must be wrong. The holiday season is not a time for peace on earth, good will to men and women but a time to take umbrage if someone doesn't put enough religion to suit you in a holiday greeting.

By the way, one very good reason to downplay specifically Christian observances and displays in public places is that other religions often demand equal time and space. On public land at the southern tip of Central Park, the Catholic League for Civil Rights (an aggrieved organization dedicated to looking under every rock for anti-Catholicism) set up an enormous, larger-than-life creche some years ago. Of course, a Hasidic Jewish group then demanded a right to an overgrown menorah, accompanied by a "mitzvah mobile"--a truck blasting Chanukah songs at a decibel level that induces annual, long-lasting headches in apartment residents on Central Park South. Some mitzvah. Both of these exaggerated religious symbols are public nuisances. You want to see a creche, St. Patrick's Cathedral is just a few blocks away. Ditto for menorahs and nearby synagogues. And oh yes, there's always your very own home for the religious symbols closest to your heart. And no, I don't count Christmas trees (or "Chanukah bushes," as my beloved late mother-in-law used to say) as religious symbols. Every human since the Stone Age has probably been trying to fight off the evil spirits of winter by throwing some sort of light display into the darkness, and we are no different.

And now, in the true spirit of the season, I leave you with my book recommendations for the freethinkers on your Christmas or Winter Solstice list.

1. Evolution, with compelling pictures of fossils by Patrick Gries and equally fascinating essays by the French naturalist Jean-Baptiste de Panafieu, translated by Linda Asher, is the perfect gift for anyone over age 12 who cares about science and rationality. It is a big and expensive book, but it comes closer than any published work I've seen (except the writings of Charles Darwin himself) to capturing the wonder of how our species and all species came to occupy the space we do in the natural world. The lucid, beautifully translated essays may break your heart, because European popularizers of science only have to explain
evolution--they do not have to defend it from know-nothing biblical literalists. Seven Stories Press. $65.

2. Piety and Politics: The Right-Wing Assualt on Religious Freedom, by Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State (and an ordained minister of the United Church of Christ). No one makes the case better than Lynn that the separation of church and state has been as good for religion as it has been for the U.S. government--and that those who want to breach the wall of separation are playing with a fire that our founders, thankfully, spared us until now . Three Rivers Press. $11.16. (Don't ask me why the publisher is asking for 16 cents instead of 15 cents.)

3. The Best of Robert Ingersoll: Selections from His Writings and Speeches. Edited by Roger E. Greeley. Ingersoll, known as "the Great Agnostic" when he was the most famous orator in late 19th-century America, is just as relevant to today's debates about religion, and the relationship between religion and government, as he was in his own time. This is too bad, of course, because Ingersoll and other late 19th-century freethinkers could never have imagined that Americans would still be arguing about these issues in the 21st century. Prometheus Books. $18.25.

All of these books are available on Amazon.You could also buy your favorite freethinker a copy of Thomas Paine's The Age of Reason, which has, deservedly, never been out of print.

Happy holidays to all, and to all a good night.