Bah Humbug! But...

As long-time readers will know, I'm not exactly a Christmas sort of person. Because I'm so historically anal retentive, I have a very difficult time reconciling my devout Anglican beliefs with my knowledge that the origins of the holiday that we now call "Christmas," and many of the traditions thereof, predate the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and are derived from the pagan celebration of the Winter Solstice. It's a tough holiday to avoid, since so many people love it so dearly. For most Westerners, Christmas has become more of a designated annual time for meeting with family and enjoying a feast together - not bad in and of itself, but it often neglects not only the real origin of the holiday, but also the Christianized meaning that was introduced by the Roman Catholic Church centuries ago.

Even so, in lieu of a regular post today, I'd like to treat any of you who are bored enough to be reading the blog on Christmas Day (or at some point in the next several) to a few videos. The first is a great song from the album Barenaked for the Holidays by the Barenaked Ladies, featuring Sarah McLachlan: God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen/We Three Kings.



I was also able to look around on YouTube and find something I adored from my childhood: Will Vinton's A Claymation Christmas Celebration, which features songs that you basically couldn't get on the TV these days due to the chaotic rush to eliminate any mention of religion whatsoever. If you grew up in the eighties and nineties, it will bring back excellent memories - especially the camels!





And if that wasn't quite enough blasphemy for you, treat yourself to some South Park Christmas action with Mr. Hankey's Christmas Classics.

No matter what you folks are up to today, or in the coming days, please be safe, be happy, and be healthy. That's it for today, check back in tomorrow, or whenever you're able.