"Christmas," too, may soon (or already) function as a generic name -- not to mention a commercial name for this season of spending -- more than as a religious name, [Geoffrey Pullum] suggests." There is no hope of ever disguising the fact that the United States celebrates Christmas as a period of time off from work, exchanging of gifts, and rituals involving holly, ivy, mistletoe . . . tinsel, gifts, and a jolly white-bearded fat man wearing red," Pullum writes, adding, "And yes, for some people, a commemoration of the birth of a religious leader in Bethlehem."