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Vox Pop : Have the Holidays Become too Secular? : 12/28/11

http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wamc/local-wamc-998393.mp3

Albany, NY – The holiday season is steeped in religions tradition, but in recent years many religious traditions have given way to more secular fare.

While only a handful of devoted might attend a midnight mass on Christmas, it's hard not to miss the fervor surrounding holiday shopping, including television commercials featuring time honored carols re-written with lyrics about great prices on cars and electronic.

Even the carols themselves seem to have become more secular, with Silent Night often taking second billing next to Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, a song about a children's book that has been turned into several animated movies.

Rabbi Theodore Lichtenfeld of Congregation Agudat Achim in Schenectady, New York, Reverend Doctor Scott E. DeBlock of Niskayuna Reformed Church, and WAMC's Alan Chartock take on the issues surrounding the holidays, secularism, and commercialism on this edition of Vox Pop. WAMC's Ray Graf hosts.