How will this Christmas compare to those you experienced during your childhood? That question is at the core of the latest research from Pew which tells us a lot about the holiday season, and a lot about American religious trends. Younger adults tend to see Christmas as a mostly cultural holiday, while older Americans still see the day as mostly religious. Really young Americans see it as a time to get and use new gadgets.

+ Nick Confalone won’t have any trouble remembering how he spent his childhood Christmas mornings. His dad videotaped his kids coming downstairs for Christmas for the last 25 years. Now I wish I had videotaped me and my other Jewish friends at the same Chinese restaurant every Christmas day for about a decade.