Sweetie, I'm atheist, and I still put up a tree and sing Christmas carols. The holiday was ripped straight from the old pagan religions anyway, and besides, if non-Irish people can celebrate St. Patrick's Day, then I can celebrate Christmas.
The fact is, whether you believe it's true or not, it's a beautiful story. Like Santa and the reindeer... everyone KNOWS it's not real, but they still do the whole Santa bit anyway, whether they've got kids or not (and they still love Miracle on 34th Street). So I celebrate the idea of Christmas, the spirit of it.
I really think that if you want to put up a tree for Alan, your best bet is to go ahead and do it and just not make a huge deal out of it. When he's older and understands more about different religions and can grasp the concept of why you're Jewish, THEN you can explain it to him.
(For the record, we always had a menorah, too, because Mom liked the idea behind it, even if it wasn't what she actually believed.)
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The fact is, whether you believe it's true or not, it's a beautiful story. Like Santa and the reindeer... everyone KNOWS it's not real, but they still do the whole Santa bit anyway, whether they've got kids or not (and they still love Miracle on 34th Street). So I celebrate the idea of Christmas, the spirit of it.
I really think that if you want to put up a tree for Alan, your best bet is to go ahead and do it and just not make a huge deal out of it. When he's older and understands more about different religions and can grasp the concept of why you're Jewish, THEN you can explain it to him.
(For the record, we always had a menorah, too, because Mom liked the idea behind it, even if it wasn't what she actually believed.)