1. Feast of St. Genevieve
2. Father Christmas and Christ’s Birth…it’s still Christmas, afterall.
“Father Christmas has his roots in the personification of the spirit of Christmas in the Merrie England of mediaeval times, though he really came of age in the 17th century as a spirit of resistance to the efforts of the Puritans to ban Christmas after their victory in the English Civil War. Believe it or not, the Puritan-controlled English government actually legislated to abolish Christmas, considering, reasonably enough, that the celebration of “Christ-Mass” was papist. Since the celebration of the Mass had been outlawed, it was natural that the celebration of “Christ-Mass” should be outlawed also. Traditional Christmas customs were banned and the Purityrannical rulers of England declared, in league with a certain White Witch, that it would be always winter but never Christmas.” Read the rest here.
3. Challenge: Say a kind word today
4. Festivity versus Partying
“What might seem odd to some, especially in post-Puritan America, is the apparent mix of a party (“laughter and good red wine”) and praising God (Benedicamus Domino is Latin, meaning “Let us bless the Lord.”) Some might even find it offensive to mix the two…” Read the rest here.
5. It can wait, right?!
My New Year’s resolution is to stop procrastinating… but I’ll start tomorrow.