I want to share with you three stories, that take place in three different nations, that illustrate a central truth about Christmas. The headline read "Japan Goes Wild for Ho-Ho Holiday." A nation, made up almost entirely of Shinto and Buddhist believers, has taken to celebrating "Kurisumasu" with the heartiest of Ho-Ho-Hos. The season is marked by extravagant gift-giving, with shoppers lined up for blocks outside of expensive department stores.

Red-garbed choirs give enthusiastic if uncertain voice to "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" and other Christmas carols, in downtown Tokyo. In residential sections nearly every doorway bears a Christmas wreath or a smiling Santa Claus.

Yet, no one seems to have a clue why Christmas is celebrated at all in a nation where Christians account for less tha…