I am sure everyone can relate to your frustration of having to attend something you don't want to, especially at the work place. But more on this later …

I've got something very interesting to tell you about the latter point of view – in India, in Government offices, both religious and POLITICAL expressions are allowed.

See, the employees are legally allowed to form unions, and most often then not, it is the political parties themselves that organize these unions. You might think it's a sure fire recipe for disaster. But everyone still gets along for (what I think) are three major reasons – (1) the act of joining and being a member of a union is itself a very loud expression of your political view, so there is no need to bring it to work (2) The government employees understand that they are public servants and while they can have public political views, they know that the public does not appreciate not being served; so if they don't get along professionally they know they'll face public ire which could cause them their job. (3) The employees also learn fast that while they can have political views, paying public patronage to them isn't very conducive to their career as governments and political views often change in a democratic system.

Religion – well, unlike western countries that define secularism as creating a wall between the state and the church, we in India define it more in terms of religious freedom, inclusiveness and understanding. So you can sport religious symbols freely, even in private firms. And westerners might be really surprised on finding idols, pictures or even religious ceremonies (in some cases) at work places reflecting on the religious beliefs of the owner of the firm. (Ofcourse, expression of political belief at private firms are frowned upon – and sometimes harshly opposed, but expressions of religious beliefs by the employees are allowed).

(In fact, while most of the western world struggles with keeping the church separate from the political state, in India the struggle is between the secular and the communal. More on indian secularism – http://www.milligazette.com/dailyupdate/2006/20060623_secular_india.htm – and if you read the wikipedia article on the same subject ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secularism_in_India ) written and edited by right-wingers, and compare the two article you'll understand what I mean that the struggle is between the secular and the communal in India.)

Ok, back to your first point – perhaps it is more about your values and beliefs. One – you are quite religious and any religious person would find the in-you-face-salvation-from-christ-only type of christianity increasingly being practiced by Christians to be quite disconcerting (to be impolite, repulsive).

Two – The emphasis you place on your career and your "obligation" to your career. Is it realistic? Would it really harm your career if you don't attend one party? Is there an alternative to attending the party (I can think of one – buy gifts and card and wish your Christian co-workers a merry Christmas. Don't attend the party, when asked make an excuse. Trust me, a good gift is sometimes more welcomed then the company of the giftee ;), so people won't mind it much). You may need to re-evaluate this belief – perhaps you may find that paying a little less emphasis on your work and career might make you a little more happier (wow shocking, I know! :) … I just feel that you equate your self-worth too much with being productive (and not just at work).

Final thoughts – if you can't change facts, the only thing you can do is change your attitude. My motto – Life's hard, if you aren't flexible, it'll break you.

(God that's long, no time to review for grammar or typos – so don't judge all you language fanatics :).

Personally as a pagan, Santa, reindeer and such are not religious, but secular symbols, not related to the winter solstice, but of the general madness of hallowthanksmasnewsuperday.

I'd really like some suggestions that would be inclusive, diverse, appropriate, and for my personal taste, humorous.

And as for office productivity going up when the Christmas decorations go out, isn't that pandering to the bean counters, i.e., providing a fiscal imperative for chopping out holly and the ivy? Isn't that sort of shallow and disingenous? This sort of thing would reach the height of irony in the retail sector: there we have a business where the difference between red and black depends on the Christmas season…but heaven forbid Wally World should hang a garland.

This comment from you shouts volumes: "And if you want your career to be upwardly mobile, you need to be able to manage diversity." Two buzz-phrases ("upwardly mobile" and "manage diversity") and pandering to personal ambition, in less than twenty words.

Come to think of it, maybe retailers should put the Christmas section in the back, sort of like the adult section in a video store? Isn't putting all that tinsel and trim out in plain sight damaging to diversity? We wouldn't want to scar anyone for life, would we?

Heavy sarcasm, I know. However, you should also know that if I was your boss, I would give you EVERY Jewish holiday off,with pay, for two reasons:

1.) Fair is fair.

2.) It might stop you from whining.