Actually, the Winter Solstice is the reason for the season....

Dear Co-worker,

I've known you forever. You're a good person, and a great friend. And I'm thrilled you've found your faith again. I really am.

But, for the love of [insert deity of your choice here] can you please stop sending me religious emails? You know I'm Wiccan. This means that I celebrate Yule at this time of year, among other things which we've talked about and which I know you know about.

I don't want emails about how "Jesus is the reason for the season"---it's a nice rhyme, but it's not true, since Jesus wasn't born in December.

I don't want emails about how we should pray for our country (apparently, we need to pray extra hard now that our president is reaching out to members of other faiths. Right. Because this is SUCH a problem, and the fact that 1 in 8 Americans is on food stamps is a minor concern. /end sarcasm.)

I don't want emails about how there should be prayer in school. There shouldn't be, unless it's a private religious school. I believe strongly in the separation of church and state.

I don't want that email about St. Theresa's money prayer that I know you've sent me ten or twelve times in the last year---don't you think the saint has better things to do than monitor our emails and keep track of who forwards it?

I don't want the email on the latest conspiracy theory/doctored picture/email scam that you've received and decided to send to me because "I'll know if it's fake." Your trust is touching, but really, I use Snopes.com. Nothing complicated or mystical. Trust me.

And finally...before you hit "Send," please think twice. I know the temptation is to assume that everyone around you is some form of Christian, but a good many of your co-workers and friends may not be. We are not all the same and many people keep their beliefs out of the workplace. I don't have a problem with your beliefs. Please respect mine.