[Margaret Pilkington]

I think that schools would find it hard to teach all religions objectively...though they could(and do) teach about other faiths.
I was taught about the nativity when I was growing up too, but I cannot say in all honesty that I believed all of it...but then isn't that what faith is about.......knowing in a common sense way that something cannot be true, but having a belief anyway.

All of our laws are based on Christian tenets(whichever bit of christianinty you follow - because roman catholicism is still based around Christ)...all educational establishments started in monasteries....so the structure of society was built around religion.
Whether you choose to follow it or not.
As for many of the Christmas traditions being marketing ploys.......Santa was always dressed in green prior to Coca Cola hijacking the image for advertising purposes, but he did stillexist in the minds of the people. Christmas trees were popularised by Prince Albert(no commercialism there - he just wanted to follow the tradition of his homeland) and bringing into the home green boughs, holly, spruce etc were remnants of the pagan festival of Saturnalia......the lights.....well you could say they have been borrowed from other religions, but in the dark of midwinter it would have been normal to have candles lighting up the home...and I am of an age when they used to put wax candles on christmas trees to illuminate them......there were no fairy lights.