new years and holiday gifts

The gemara (Avodah Zarah 65) writes that R’ Yehudah sent a gift to a non-Jew on their holiday because he knew this particular individual was not an idolater.  A similar story is told about Rava.

R’ Ya’akov Emden asks m’mah nafshach: if these individuals did not worship avodah zarah and were therefore not celebrating, what was the point of sending a gift?  And if they were celebrating, then sending the gift should have been asur?

He answers that the holiday in question was New Years.  For ovdei avodah zarah, the day has religious significance - New Years was originally a pagan holiday dedicated to the Roman god Janus.  However, the day also has secular significance, as it was the start of the new Julien calendar year, when new civil servants took office and the Roman Senate convened. 

Had the non-Jews in question been idolaters celebrating the New Year as a religious holiday, then R’ Yehudah and Rava would not have sent gifts.  But since they were not idolaters and were just celebrating the day as a secular holiday, the gifts were just expressions of good will. 

I have not looked into whether there are teshuvos on this issue, but it seems to me that most people today do not celebrate even December 25 as a religious holiday, and certainly not New Years.  Last week I heard one radio talk show host (who happens to be Jewish, though not religious) discuss his visit to a certain cathedral the night of yom eidam not to celebrate their religion, but stam, because it was a beautiful building and the prayers and singing were nice.  It’s the aesthetic appeal that was the attraction, not the religious meaning.  I think most people share that sentiment.  Isn’t that why churches advertise that people should put you-know-who back into the holiday?  The “holiday season,” as they call it, is more about shopping than worship.  L’havdil (I guess that term is appropriate), if you were to attend a service at a Reconstructionist temple, the chazzinit would probably have a beautiful voice and the prayers would speak about G-d (if they even mention him) bestowing his grace on all humanity and other such empty platitudes.  Religion for the masses at best boils down to belief in a generic god that makes few demands (i.e. not too many do’s and dont’s) along with an assortment of liberal values and virtues.  In other words, secular humanism without the taint of atheism. If that's the case, then I would guess that gift giving during this season is not that different than the cases in the gemara.  Again, I'm just writing off the cuff as a hava amina, but one would have to check if there are sources that deal with the issue.  

UPDATE: For more on this topic, see Shu"T Bnei Banim vol 3 siman 35.