on the first day of christmas

It’s that time of the year. When the big guns come out. When battle lines are drawn. When sides bunker down. Get ready. It’s the war on Christmas. One aspect of this war that may not be apparent is that it started long ago. I’m looking at your Mr Herod… When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem under two years old Ever since that day, this war soldiers on. It’s less bloody today but just as heated.  But there's more to this war than "Happy Holidays" and "Holiday Trees". And good ol’ blue eyes sang about it in the year before the summer of love… Whatever happened to Christmas? It's gone and left no traces, Whatever happened to the faces or the glow, Whatever happened to Christmas, to Christmas way of living? Whatever happened to the giving, the magic in the snow? Remember the sight and the smell and the sound, And remember hearing ...

Sometimes things are not what they seem. I sat down to watch “White Christmas” for the first time. I sighed as the movie began, expecting schmaltz big time. Yet the opening scene is of war. Weary soldiers gather. They duck for cover. A general bids his troops farewell. And “White Christmas” is sung. It’s opening line makes sense… I’m dreaming of a white Christmas Just like the ones I used to know For many years I thought this song was plain awful. But having seen it placed in the context of war, it took on another life. From that opening scene I fell in love with this song.   I've also fallen in love with oldies. But for a long time, I couldn’t stand them. Like Crosby’s tune. For many years, I had the pleasure of showing cinema classics to the oldies at church. And when I screened “White Christmas” the opening scene took on a deeper meaning still. Many, if not all, had served during the war. They would’ve understood the soldier's weariness...