Is Christmas music still religious?

Christmas music has become a staple of holiday festivities and as a result has become a way for popular artists to take advantage of the lucrative season and make a quick profit, so I wonder: is Christmas music inherently religious because of its association with a religious holiday, or is it now representative of the capitalistic nature of Christmas?  Over the last several decades Christmas music has evolved from Christian hymns and caroling, to an lucrative industry in which popular radio stations dedicate over a month to playing solely the festive music.  A large portion of Christmas music doesn’t even allude to the Christmas’ roots in Christianity instead choosing to portray the weather, Christmas trees, and presents. 

I believe that despite being associated with a “religious” holiday, Christmas music is not inherently religious.  According to Livingstone, the listening to Christmas music would be defined as a ritual, claiming, “A second type of sacred rite is associated with fixed points in the yearly and is connected either with the changing of the seasons or with the commemorative and rehearsal of a momentous historical event.”  I would argue that the listening to Christmas music is a ritual that people participate in religiously, but the music itself reflects the holiday’s shift away from religion and towards capitalism.