Who was Santa Claus? And who are all those Santas in malls and parades? Becoming Santa traces the history of Santa Claus and explores the phenomenon of the full-bearded Santas who work the holiday.

When Jack Sanderson–full disclosure, someone I have know for almost a decade– looses his holiday spirit after the deaths of his mother and father, he discovers a photo of his father dressed as Santa for a neighborhood party, and decides to maybe try being Santa for a season. He already has the build and beard, when a pair of kids came up to him in a store and called him Santa, so why not? One thing Jack learns at Santa school: Never call children “kids.”

This past week, as the Coptic Christian Church prepared to celebrate Christmas (celebrated by them and other eastern Christian churches on January 6), Islamic fundamentalist militants in Egypt threatened to carry out bomb attacks on their churches if they gathered for worship. Given similar attacks in recent months in Egypt and elsewhere in the middle east, this was no idle threat.

And the people of Egypt reacted, coming out in defense of their neighbors: “We either live together, or we die together.”

Imagine how different the world would be is more people started talking like that?

Find all those little bits and pieces of paper, the lists, etc. Throw those all in the recycling. And think of one thing, one simple thing, that you can do – heck, you can start it right NOW! And continue it.

One of the clearest signs of our destruction of Iraq can be seen this Christmas day in the fears and dangers faced by Iraqi Christians. Christians have lived in Iraq since the founding of their religion and have been a vibrant part of local society with more than 1.2 million present prior to the US invasion.

Popular culture’s vision of Christmas generally misses the challenging nature of the story of Christmas. It’s much nicer and safer to simple sing platitudes of peace on earth before turning to the celebration of acquiring more and more stuff and seeking a higher spot on the pyramid of power. But from time to time, there are glimpses of Christmas that challenge the passions in our society to make distinctions between people, to judge one’s worth by the size of one’s pile of stuff, and to raise up the rich at the expense of the poor.

In 1999, Aaron Sorkin and Rick Cleveland got it right on The West Wing, in the episode “In Excelsis Deo.” The music, the direction, and the editing brilliantly captured what I believe lies at the heart of the Christmas story. Whether we share a common understanding of this story or not, I pray that we can share a vision of a mutual partnership that raises up the lowly, that feeds the hungry, that embraces the stranger, that welcomes the outcast, and that works for peace.

The latest National Intelligence Estimate on Afghanistan has inspired me to write a modern parable for the season.

Christmas morning is made for the Muppets, don’t you think?

Frank Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life is a cultural icon, full of metaphysics, homilies, the romantic images of small town America, and the struggle of Everyman to do good and be the best possible person. The underlying theme is monetary wealth versus the wealth in happiness.

The right is winning the War On Christmas… but which side of it are they on?

From Twisted Sister and FDL.