You would think revering the season's central figure would be expected, but you'd be wrong. Although his predecessor, Barack Obama, mentioned the Nativity in general terms as "the story of a child born far from home … who'd ultimately spread a message that has endured for more than 2,000 years," the more direct Trump went right to the sacred heart of the matter.

"As the Bible tells us, when the wise men had come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary, his mother, and fell down and worshipped him. Christians give thanks that the Son of God came down to save humanity," Trump said. In fulfilling his promise to renormalize the greeting "Merry Christmas" away from the deliberately vague "happy holidays," Trump venerated the Yuletide's raison d'être. Hollywood didn't get the memo, though. That's no surprise; the industry has long had a problem with religiosity.