Atlanta , Georgia ( CNN ) -- As Christmas season went into full swing this year , Glen Fullmer 's 7-year-old son came home from school with an assignment : Make a poster illustrating his family holiday traditions . The boy was n't sure how to proceed because he and his family are Baha'is , not Christians , and they have no holidays during the Christmas season . Thus , Fullmer encountered the `` December Dilemma '' -- the term used for the quandaries and anxieties non-Christians and interfaith couples face during Christmas season . Fullmer , a Baha ' i faith spokesman who lives in Evanston , Illinois , said he saw the poster assignment as a `` teachable moment '' for his 4- , 7- and 10-year-old sons who associated holiday traditions with Christmas . He reminded his boys that Baha'is have a gift-giving and charity period in February called Ayyam-i-Ha , a stretch of time not unlike the Christmas season . And he helped his son design the poster about that holiday , which precedes a fasting period and then the Baha ' i New Year in March . `` His classmates asked him questions about the holiday , and one of his friends came up to him and wants to celebrate that holiday , '' Fullmer said , pleased that his son 's peers helped him reaffirm his identity . Navigating the Christmas season can be a challenge for the millions of people who do n't celebrate the holiday . Many acknowledge and sometime embrace the season 's customs , such as gift-giving and sending out greeting cards , while at the same time they are conscious of maintaining their own religious identities . `` They strongly try to maintain their own integrity , but they really want to find bridges across holidays , '' said the Rev . Dr. Paul Numrich , a professor at the Theological Consortium of Greater Columbus in Ohio . `` I think that 's the majority . '' L.S . Narasimhan , chairman of the Georgia Indo-American Chamber of Commerce , is a Hindu and does n't celebrate Christmas . But he said he admires the Christian celebrations of his friends and has attended Christmas Eve services at several churches . `` Hindus are typically more open-minded and tolerant . Hinduism is very comfortable in accommodating a diversity of ideas , '' he said . `` It is very common for Hindu families to have Christmas trees at their homes , purely as a fun thing to do for their children . When they visit shopping malls , Hindu parents in general are comfortable with a photo-op for their little kids with Santa . '' But at the same time , there are pressures about the encroachment of Christianity on Hindu life . `` Television commercials , good selection of merchandise and great sale prices persuade Hindu-Americans to take advantage of the shopping spree , '' Narasimhan said . `` Several Hindu temples have risen up to the challenge and added some special Hindu prayers and ceremonies to engage Hindus who are on winter holidays but not on overseas vacations . '' Dr. Shefali Chheda , an Atlanta-area pediatrician , is a Jain -- practicing a religion with Indian roots . Growing up in Houston , Texas , she said her parents `` felt comfortable letting us celebrate Christmas , '' perhaps to help fit into American society and maintain a sense of normalcy . `` The spirit and meaning of Christmas , of helping others and of giving , are nice messages . Therefore , it is hard to consciously object to it , '' Chheda said . `` Jains , as a whole , are a minority in India . Many Jains celebrate Hindu holidays , so celebrating Christmas with Santa and a tree and presents is no different . Since Jains wholeheartedly believe in 'ahimsa ' -- peace toward all living beings in thought , word and action -- the Christmas spirit is a very Jain-like philosophy . '' The religious aspect of Christmas -- believing Jesus is the savior and that December 25 is his birthday -- is not celebrated in Jainism , but the customs and symbols are interwoven into daily life , she said . `` Now that I have toddlers in the house , they come home with stories about Christmas . They sing songs about Rudolph and Santa , and Kwanzaa , and Hanukkah . But it 's Santa that everyone talks about , so they talk about him as well , '' Chheda said . `` I use Santa as a behavioral modification tool . 'Santa 's watching you , so you better be good ' works infinitely better than timeout . My kids will be living in this country ; they will have a hard enough time anyway with their names and food and other cultural traditions ; Christmas -- and the Christmas spirit -- is not one tradition that I want to take away from them . '' Jesus plays a role in the theology of other religions , such as the Baha ' i faith and Islam , even though those faiths do n't observe Christmas as a religious holiday . The Christmas season presented a struggle for Haris Tarin , director of the Washington office of the Muslim Public Affairs Committee . He grew up in Los Angeles , California , area schools , where he sang the ever-present Christmas carols and made the gingerbread houses in schools but did n't have a tree in his home . `` We definitely had a little bit of anxiety in childhood , '' Tarin said . But that changed as he grew up and refined his American Muslim persona amid the American atmosphere of diversity and tolerance . Now , where he and his family live in northern Virginia , `` we do n't celebrate Christmas . We celebrate our holidays '' -- pointing , for example , to Eid al-Fitr after Ramadan and Eid al-Adha after the hajj pilgrimage . But he welcomes the goodwill of the season -- the gift-exchanges with non-Muslim neighbors and the requests from schoolteachers to talk about Muslim holidays . `` There 's definitely going to be a level of discomfort , especially for those who are n't used to that diverse culture that we belong to , '' he said . But the unease spawns discussion , presenting a useful opportunity to help young people and newcomers , he said . For Jews , the eight-day holiday of Hanukkah happens to fall during the Christmas season . Hanukkah is wildly popular and observed , with its special foods , gift-giving and candle lighting , and with its symbols such as the menorah -- a candelabrum -- and the dreidel , a toy that spins like a top . Compared with other non-Christians , many Jews have drawn a sharper line in the sand when it comes to observing Christmas , a stance informed by historic , theological and self-preservation reasons . That attitude emerged recently during a young professionals ' get-together at an Indian restaurant outside Atlanta sponsored by the American Jewish Committee and Young Indian Professionals . People there indicated that attending Christmas-themed holiday parties , exchanging greeting cards and wishing Christian friends `` Merry Christmas '' are surely not uncommon or unacceptable among Jews . But some practices are widely shunned -- such as plunking one 's child on Santa 's lap at the mall , and deplored -- such as assigning kids in public schools to write a letter to Santa Claus . `` It 's a beautiful season . It brings out a joy , '' said Hannah Vahaba , who organized the Jewish-Indian event . `` But I 'm not going to celebrate it . '' Interfaith couples celebrate their diversity during the Christmas season . Jeff Silver , a certified public accountant who is Jewish , and Shweta Gupta , a dentist who is Hindu , are planning their marriage next year . They will have an interfaith household and said they hope to raise children to understand both of their traditions . At their home in Atlanta , they 've set up a holiday tree decorated with Hindu and Jewish ornaments . Non-religious Americans embrace a December `` secular holiday '' called HumanLight . Patrick Colucci , vice chair of the HumanLight Committee and member of the New Jersey Humanist Network , said the holiday can uplift `` atheist , humanist and nonreligious '' people who feel left out and isolated during Christmas . It was a perfect fit for him when it came along , he said , because `` it corresponds with my humanity-based ethics and values , without any supernatural or theistic beliefs . My 'holiday season ' is HumanLight and New Year 's Eve -- that 's what I celebrate . '' `` The only dilemma , in my experience is , if Christmas is part of the larger family tradition , and then some family members reject us for not believing in it anymore . We 're not out to take Christmas away from anyone who wants to celebrate it -- there is no 'war on Christmas , ' `` Colucci said . How do Christians themselves see the presence and practices of non-Christians during Christmas ? While many would like to see non-Christians convert to Christianity , they also recognize that the United States is a `` diverse society '' and that conversion `` is not even on their radar screen , '' said Numrich , the theology professor . `` There 's a deep American virtue in respecting religious differences , '' he said .
Non-Christians and interfaith couples often face quandaries and anxieties during holidays . Many acknowledge and sometime embrace customs of the Christmas season . Others remain conscious of maintaining their own religious identities .