It's sometime around 6 B. C. in Bethlehem. It's snowing as Joseph, Mary and an infant Jesus in bundles make their way in the cold, looking for shelter. They pass a few people sitting around an open fire, roasting chestnuts.
A little further down the road, a man lay in a bundle of blankets, singing in his sleep -- something about a white Christmas. Meanwhile, Santa Claus and his elves are stirring far to the north, where a swirling candy cane post marks the entrance to his underground layer.
Mary and Joseph come to an inn all decorated with multi-colored lights around the frame. They ask for a space, even the smallest corner available, but, alas, the innkeeper, finding the corner empty, had stuffed it with a Douglas fir, under which the tenants placed their belongings to be redistributed randomly in the morning.
So they are turned away with no place to go. They continue walking in the cold.
They see a star twinkle in the northern sky, like a guiding light, and three wise men far across the land prepare for a journey -- but there's a mix-up. Turns out, they start heading north and west, but it's the wrong star and the wrong direction. So Rudolph, realizing his part in the folly, comes down from above, like some kind of angel, to warn them; and after some confusion in which the wise men bow down and start worshiping Santa, they head back home in the East, carrying packs of gifts from Old Nick in a sleigh he lent them.
Back in Bethlehem, Joseph, Mary and the little Jesus are covered with snow. Just when they feel there is no place for them, up come the three wise men gliding in their sleigh full of presents. They offer the family a ride to a nearby barn where they can stay for the night.
They all sit around a fire roasting marshmallows, because they're out of chestnuts, and sing Christmas songs, letting merriment pass the time. One of the wise men looks over at the smiling baby Jesus, who lies on some straw in a trough. Just then, he remembers the prophesy Rudolph gave them before parting -- the one about a baby wrapped in clothes, lying in a manger, who will grow up to become the king of the North Pole, their Savior. Inspired by the moment, he composes the song "Away in a Manger", and sings it for the baby. They all give him presents and rejoice that their journey is complete, their goal reached...
I wonder sometimes if little children could mix up the Christmas story to such an extreme, what with all the commercialization of the sacred celebration. Look around this Christmas season. What will you find?
St. Nick has taken over Christmas.
There was a time when Saint Nicholas had his own day of celebration, but that wasn't good enough. He had to have Christmas too.
Move over Jesus.
These days, thanks to the elves at the toy companies and mass exploitation of a saintly figure, Jesus has been put on the back burner of the Christmas season. For many who "celebrate" this time, the man in whose honor the holiday was created becomes nothing more than a fleeting thought out of propriety -- if even that.
But anyway, here comes Santa Claus with all those nice presents.
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
