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I have a confession to make: We barely decorated for Christmas this year. The extent of our festive furnishings is a humble 15-inch plastic tree in the middle of our kitchen table. How did it come to this? Let me start by saying I love Christmas, and I generally approach the season with an all-in
READ MOREIt’s generally accepted that early Christians adopted December 25th as the day of Christ’s birth to co-opt the pagan celebration of the winter solstice. Some believe this fact undermines Christianity. But according to Professor William Tighe, this “fact” may actually be a myth. Based on his extensive research, Tighe argues that the December 25th date “arose entirely
READ MORESimple, timeless, and unpretentious, “A Charlie Brown Christmas Special” became a holiday tradition since its first airing on Dec. 9, 1965. Its beginnings were simple: a television producer approached cartoonist Charles Schulz with a general idea for an animated special featuring the Peanuts gang. Soon, the idea for a Christmas special, written by Schulz himself,
READ MOREA month or two ago, a pro-choice classmate of mine decided to put words in my mouth. In a friendly discussion about abortion in America, he responded to me with, “Well, you’re just anti-abortion because you’re Catholic.” My jaw dropped. “But I’m not,” I said. “I’m pro-life because life begins at conception.” He did not
READ MORESunday, December 1 marked the beginning of Advent for 2024. But what exactly is Advent, and why does it matter? Advent comes from the Latin adventus, which means “coming.” In simple terms, Advent is the period on the church calendar directly preceding Christmas. Within the Christian worldview, Advent is a special time of preparation and
READ MOREAn often-overlooked Cold War journalist, political thinker, and ex-Soviet spy, Whittaker Chambers was born in 1901 and grew up in a poor and troubled home. Desperation and dissatisfaction with his upbringing and sympathy toward the plight of the poor and working class made Marxist ideology and its practical application—communism—especially appealing to Chambers. Like many young
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