He says he doesn't sing the songs that have religious words or meaning, and he notes, rightly, that many of the most famous "Christmas" songs are better described as winter songs many of them written by Jews.

WSJ: Being Jewish in the Christmas season

"People look at musicians, and everything they write or sing is part of their own life rather than something they've observed around them, " he says.

NPR: Peter Himmelman Puts Family Before Rock 'n' Roll