Christmas seems that time of year when everyone you never even knew was Christian gets religious. A friend of mine whose kids are my kids' best friends asked me if we celebrate Christmas as Jesus' birthday and I didn't quite know how to respond.

I love Christmas. But I really dislike organized religion.

To me, Christmas means neither religion nor presents. It's about spending time with family and the joy of wintertime. Even when I was a child, it was never about the presents (though I certainly did enjoy them!). I was raised Christian but the traditions that most appealed to me were the ones that were more pagan - the ones about celebrating winter.

I like being in a warm kitchen with my family, baking cookies or a big Christmas dinner. I love the process of bundling up in coats and scarves and gloves and going out in the cold to sing for neighbors you might not talk to at any other time of the year. Hot chocolate in front of the fire. Walks in the snow. Christmas crafts, smiling faces, friendly people, the anticipation of the season.

I'm glad to see that I'm passing this on to my son. While he keeps telling me what toys he wants for Christmas, the most recurring theme is "Are we going to Chicago yet? I want to see Grammie and Grandpa and play in the snow!"