Let me fill in some personal background as quickly as possible:  When it comes to faith, you could define me pretty close to agnostic. My wife of 25+ years is a lapsed Catholic. There's no real conflict here, but our respective cultural backgrounds give us a different attitude towards religion in general.   Christmas is a secular affair for us; when the kids lived with us, it was all Santa and presents.  Since we joined the empty nest club, Christmas is an excuse to goof off and relax for me, actually…