To be honest, I don’t understand your post. Preparing for Christmas in August? Final exams on Christmas Eve? I’m in culinary school, as I said, and I take exams once a week up until last week. Sure, it’s a hassle but that’s what adults do!
I worked for an Hasidic law firm as a youth, my husband was a Shabbas Goy and neither of us had these negative Christmas experiences. I do remember with a smile the head of the law firm bemusedly shaking his head whenever he saw this little goyishe Debbie Reynolds type walk into his office.
I think you’re one of those odd denominations of “Christianity” that doesn’t celebrate Christmas. We’ve had a few of them on FR over the last couple of years. Do you wear a wedding ring, lol?!
And...Yes, as a science major as and undergraduate and in professional school there absolutely wasn't time to fuss with Christmas during the fall semester. If anything relating to Christmas was to be done it really had to be during the summer. Somehow, that seemed a little nuts to me.
And...I think you may have missed that I said my husband and I don't celebrate Christmas but both of our families do and so our denomination and its members. We don't like the holiday.
About the wedding ring thing:
My husband hasn't worn his for years. He is a windsurfer and was concerned about it getting caught on something. I stopped wearing mine a few months ago. I came across a YouTube that showed people with amputated ring fingers due to getting the wedding rings caught on various things. That did it for me. Off came the ring. We have considered getting tattooed rings.