A Civic Tradition, Not Just a Religious Holiday

As Americans enter the Twelve Days of Christmas, the seasonal tension surrounding the holiday remains a recurring feature of American public life. For more than three decades, debates over Christmas—its language, symbols, and place in public institutions—have persisted, often framed as disputes over inclusion or religious neutrality. Yet beneath the surface, a broader cultural shift has taken place: the gradual removal of Christianity’s cultural presence from American civic life, and the consequences that followed.

For much of the 20th century, Christmas in the United States functioned as a shared cultural event rather than a narrowly religious observance. While rooted in Christianity, the holiday evolved into a broadly civic tradition marked by music, decorations, school pageants, charity drives, and a seasonal emphasis on goodwill. Participation did not require church attendance or doctrinal belief. Instead, Christmas acted as a unifying cultural moment in a diverse society.

Institutional Retreat Begins in the 1990s

Beginning in the 1990s, however, institutions across the country began reevaluating the public expression of the holiday. School districts revised holiday programming, municipal governments scaled back displays, and corporations replaced traditional greetings with neutral alternatives. These changes were rarely driven by mass public demand. Instead, administrators cited concerns about inclusivity, legal exposure, or the possibility of offending someone—often without evidence of actual complaints.

The result was not a sudden disappearance of Christmas, but a slow dilution of its cultural presence. School concerts became “winter performances.” Decorations were removed from classrooms. Charity drives were reframed or eliminated. In many public settings, “Merry Christmas” became an avoided phrase, treated as potentially problematic rather than customary.

Uneven Standards in Religious Expression

This institutional caution was not applied evenly across religious expression. Greetings associated with minority religions—such as “Eid Mubarak” or “Shalom”—were generally treated as expressions of cultural diversity, while Christmas language was increasingly framed as exclusionary. Sociologists observing the shift note that this asymmetry was less about religion itself and more about how institutions assessed reputational risk. Majority cultural expressions were policed more aggressively than minority ones, not because they caused more harm, but because they were perceived as safer to restrict.

Importantly, this trend did not reflect the views of most Americans. Surveys consistently show that a large majority of the population celebrates Christmas in some form, including many who do not attend church or identify as religiously observant. For these Americans, Christmas is not a theological statement but a cultural inheritance—one associated with family, generosity, and shared memory.

From Shared Meaning to Commercial Replacement

The removal of Christmas from public institutions did not create a neutral space. Instead, it created a vacuum. As schools and civic organizations withdrew from seasonal traditions, commercial culture filled the gap. Holiday meaning increasingly centered on consumption, sales cycles, and marketing campaigns. Without the reinforcing presence of communal rituals—concerts, pageants, shared stories, and public acts of charity—the season became more transactional and less communal.

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What the Loss of Ritual Means for Children

Child development experts emphasize that shared rituals play a critical role in social cohesion and memory formation. Seasonal traditions help children orient themselves in time, connect to their community, and build a sense of belonging. Older generations often recall holiday events in school as formative experiences. Younger generations, by contrast, have grown up with fewer shared cultural markers, particularly during the winter months.

Thanksgiving and the Broader Pattern

The shift extends beyond Christmas. Thanksgiving, once framed primarily around gratitude and harvest themes, has been increasingly reinterpreted in educational settings through the lens of historical grievance. While the historical realities of early American settlement are complex and often tragic, critics argue that the modern approach frequently displaces the holiday’s unifying themes without offering a meaningful replacement. The result, again, is subtraction rather than balance.

Why Shared Traditions Matter in a Diverse Nation

The American integration model—often described as a melting pot—has historically relied on shared civic rituals that coexist with cultural pluralism. These common traditions did not erase difference but provided a shared framework within which diversity could function. When those rituals are weakened or treated as suspect, social cohesion erodes, and differences that once coexisted within a common national identity become points of division.

International examples suggest this pattern is not unique. In post-war Europe, rapid secularization and the quiet erosion of traditional holidays weakened shared cultural rhythms, contributing to social atomization and declining communal cohesion. Similarly, in the Soviet Union, the suppression of religious and cultural traditions hollowed out community life, with many of those traditions returning quickly after the state collapsed. Historians note that tradition is not merely decorative; it functions as social infrastructure that helps societies maintain continuity and shared identity.

Paths Toward Cultural Restoration

Restoring American holiday traditions does not require religious enforcement or doctrinal instruction. Cultural observers point to several pragmatic approaches: reframing Christmas and Thanksgiving as civic traditions with religious origins; reintroducing seasonal school events focused on music, storytelling, and charity; teaching history with nuance rather than moral condemnation; and allowing majority cultural expressions to exist without apology, while respecting minority traditions alongside them.

Such measures would not compel participation, nor would they marginalize non-Christians. Instead, they would acknowledge a simple reality: shared traditions are essential to maintaining national cohesion in a diverse society.

A Question for the Season Ahead

As Americans enter another holiday season, the question is no longer whether Christmas has changed—it clearly has—but whether the country is prepared to reclaim the cultural rituals that once helped hold it together. The answer may determine not just the tone of December, but the long-term health of American civic life.

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Dave Soulia | FYIVT

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