I was baptised Catholic and raised so, in a very lax fashion, complete with attending a Catholic girls' secondary school. The cultural tenor at this time of year is oppressively religious, in the "Well, of course everyone celebrates Christmas," and the "Of course holiday cards will have religious motifs," way, and it just makes my insides hurt because three-quarters of it is patent insincerity and the remainder is earnestness and obligation. There's no way to have a space separate from that.

And I'm probably over-sensitive this year, anyway.