As ranking curmudgeon of Vox Nova, I want to wish everyone a Happy Holiday Season.\u00a0 Rarely do I utter the phrase \u201cMerry Christmas.\u201d\u00a0 When I have the joy of answering the office phone, I give the standard greeting.\u00a0 I don\u2019t even bother with the \u201cHappy Holidays\u201d dreck.\u00a0 Rest assured, when we actually reach Christmas Eve, I come around to wishing folks a Merry Christmas.\u00a0<\/p>\n
At one time I used to be rather animated about remembering the reason for the season.\u00a0 Today I was even invited to purchase a car magnet expressing, \u201cKeep Christ In Christmas.\u201d\u00a0 That is a noble goal indeed.\u00a0 It is something that is lost with the obsession over Nativity Scene fights in cities \u2013\u00a0the interests of\u00a0the perpetually offended have seemed to have waned\u00a0upon this thankfully\u00a0\u2013 and secular retailers\u2019 wishes to those who\u2019ve given them money.\u00a0 While I can\u2019t confirm\u00a0this, I wouldn\u2019t be shocked if gentleman\u2019s clubs are now offering their patrons a \u201cMerry Christmas\u201d out of respect for their customers\u2019 religious convictions.\u00a0 For a time that could be considered a mini-Lent and a time of preparation for the time when Christ comes again to judge the living and the dead, we seem oddly obsessed with what\u00a0the salutation and farewell\u00a0the perfect stranger gives us.<\/p>\n
There are very simple ways to keep Christ in Christmas.\u00a0 For starters, fully participate in the Advent season.\u00a0 Sacramental confession is always beneficial, and Advent and Lent are times in the liturgical year for us to pay particular attention to what we have done and what we have failed to do.\u00a0 Abstinence \u2013 yes, you can abstain from that<\/em>, but the broader definition is being used \u2013 is not offered in solidarity like during Lent, but Advent is still a good time for it.\u00a0 One could perhaps make a point of having their time in personal prayer devotion exceed their time shopping during this time of year.\u00a0 (Men should still try to exceed 15 minutes of prayer during Advent.)\u00a0<\/p>\n I did something that upsets my own mother to this day: I told my children there is no such thing as Santa Claus.\u00a0 I did that when they were about 2 and 3.\u00a0 While I\u2019m not out to remove Santa, I don\u2019t make it a point to include him during our Christmas celebrations.\u00a0 I was more militant in the past on the point.\u00a0 It is truly amazing how much power we have within our own households to keep Christ in Christmas.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" As ranking curmudgeon of Vox Nova, I want to wish everyone a Happy Holiday Season.\u00a0 Rarely do I utter the phrase \u201cMerry Christmas.\u201d\u00a0 When I have the joy of answering the office phone, I give the standard greeting.\u00a0 I don\u2019t even bother with the \u201cHappy Holidays\u201d dreck.\u00a0 Rest assured, when we actually reach Christmas Eve, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2948,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[123,221,30,231],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1555","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-children","category-christmas","category-mz","category-spirituality"],"yoast_head":"\n