施賴爾馬赫雖然在《獨白》中提出了個性只有在與他人的交往中才能得到充分發展的觀點，但是他在那裡並沒有具體說明這種交往所具有的理念、特性和應該遵循的準則。對這個問題的解決是在《一種社交行為理論研究》中展開的。「自由社交」獨立於政治、經濟等外在因素的干擾，它是由一些具有類似教養、興趣的人自發組織起來交流情感和思想的行為。「自由社交」培育、發展了人的獨特個性。在 1806 年的《耶誕節座談》這部文學作品中，施賴爾馬赫以生動、具體的形式展現了他的自由社交理論中以抽象概念表達的內容。

Although Schleiermacher argues the importance of individuality in his Monologen, he has not dealt with the problem of how to cultivate, to develope individality there. As we will see, this problem is solved in his Versuch einer Theorie des geselligen Betragens, where Schleiermacher has the view that a person develops his individuality only through free interaction with others. Schleiermacher argues the case for having a sphere of free sociality, independent of political control and the necessities of the economic world, where individuals could interact as equals and engage in free conversation. In Die Weihnachtsfeier, Schleiermacher shows in vivid, concrete form what his theory of free sociality could only depict in general terms.