How to spend Christmas Day when you don't celebrate Christmas

The big day is almost here. Just two days left -- shopping or otherwise -- until the morning of the 25th, when gifts galore will be spread under the Christmas tree.

Except where there won't be.

There are, after all, many, many people in our country who do not celebrate the birth of Jesus. How do they spend the day known to many as Christmas Day when they don't celebrate Christmas?

For many, it's still family time.

"When I grew up, it was one of the very few days that were guaranteed off," said Jill Larson of Geneva. Her uncle worked for IBM and frequently was on call, but not on that day. "We always got together on Christmas because we could. Everyone else was doing that, so no matter when Hanukkah fell, we got together.

"It was a family day, but we never called it Christmas," she laughed. "We always called it 'the 25th' -- 'see you on the 25th!' Or else we called it the Hanukkah party."

"We tend to see it as family time," agreed Paula Krapf of Geneva. Her husband's company shuts down for a week or so, and her clients are, for the most part, not looking for her, either. "Having a day that is a little slower and quieter is really nice."

Restaurants and movie theaters are popular destinations, especially for people living in a big city, she said. Last year, she and her husband and daughter Ritabella, nearly 8, went to the AMC Cantera in suburban Winfield and were very surprised at the crowds for the noontime show. "I wanted to say to people, 'excuse me, what are you doing here?' " she laughed. "It was fine, but it wasn't what we expected. It was like going to the movies any time, it was so crowded."

They're considering their options for this year, looking for something quiet, relaxing, and family-oriented. "We like the fact that the day has a different pace," Krapf said.

Movies are big, agreed Nancy Sohn of Geneva. "There's a very cute YouTube video going around right now that college-age students put together, with Jewish people eating Chinese and going to the movies," she said. "It's a joke, because that's the stereotype."

Larson has her feet in two worlds, so to speak. She and husband Dave are raising their son and daughter in the Jewish faith, though Dave was raised in a Christian household. So there are still stockings and presents, even without gifts under a tree.

This year, with relatives out of town on the 25th, will be a family day, she said. "I think I'll get some DVDs from the library and have a nice family day," she said.

Tuesday may find Sohn, husband Mike Simon and their two boys, 12 and nearly 8 out in the snow (assuming we still have any, of course). With extended family members not nearby, by and large, "It's a great day for us as a family," she said. "We play games, or maybe we go out on our cross country skis or snow shoeing."

So many other people are wrapped up in their own holidays, she said. "It's just a great time when no one else is calling; nothing else is interrupting the family time," she said.

Sohn is used to others questioning her as to whether she's sad because she doesn't get to decorate her home or put up a Christmas tree. "It's not part of my celebration, so it never occurred to me to be sad," she said of her reaction, particularly as a child, to such questions.

And now, as an adult and a mom, "I'm thrilled not to have one more job to do." At the same time, her whole family gets to enjoy viewing others' beautiful decorations and trees.

Both she and Larson pointed out that even those who do not celebrate Christmas still get caught up in the end-of-the year whirlwind, with school parties, teacher gifts and other remembrances of those important in their lives. "It's still stressful, even though we're not participating," Larson said.

"Because we are in a society that is so focused on Christmas, it's fairly equally crazy for all of us, because we use it to show our appreciation to the people who are so important in our lives," Sohn said. She and Simon believe it does indeed take a village to raise children. "That makes this time of year such a nice time to recognize all the people in that village. That's fun, even though it's busy."

Not Tuesday, though. All that craziness will be behind her, leaving relaxed family time. "No one's expecting you to do anything and no one's going to call needing something.

"It's like a gift."

'Tis the season for them, after all. No matter what your beliefs, no matter how you spend your day, here's a wish that it be peaceful, merry and bright.