Observations From Hadleyville: CHRISTMAS AND CULTURE

Friday, December 23, 2011

CHRISTMAS AND CULTURE

It is difficult to separate the Christ of Christmas from our cultural trappings and traditions. After all, we are children of our own culture; a people who can place mangers and Santa Claus together in the same scene.

Why do we celebrate Christmas at all? We all know that presents are nice to get. AND we all know that presents are not the highest expression of Christmas.

There appears to be a great deal of confusion in our society. Perhaps we could profit from a small dose of history.
Christmas is about children. To be specific about one child; Jesus, who is called Immanuel: God with us.

God’s gift to us is to be among us, to be one of us and to bear our sins which we could not do for ourselves.

When God’s hands made the heavens and the earth
. . . that was CREATION.

When God’s morning stars sang together
. . .that was CELEBRATION.

When God’s word broke through the silence of time
. . . that was COMMUNICATION.

When God’s prophets stood alone against all odds
. . . that was CONSECRATION.

But when God’s Son was delivered to a manger. . . that was COMPASSION.

Christmas lives today because it is eternally the celebration of God’s compassion.

It’s not the date. it’s the reality of the event.

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WORDS OF WISDOM FOR WRITERS

The secret of becoming a writer is that you have to write. You have to write a lot. You also have to finish what you write, even though no one wants it yet. If you don't learn to finish your work, no one will ever want to see it. The biggest mistake new writers make is carrying around copies of unfinished work to inflict on their friends.

I am sure it has been done with less, but you should be prepared to write and throw away a million words of finished material. By finished, I mean completed, done, ready to submit, and written as well as you know how at the time you wrote it.
-Jerry Pournelle

WHAT'S THIS HADLEYVILLE THING?

Those of you familiar with Mark Twain’s works might recognize my blog title. As Samuel Clemons grew older, he became increasingly disillusioned with humanity. Towards the end he began referring to the Damned Human Race; employing the secular and religious epithet at one stroke.

I find I’ve not reached that level of despair myself. I still believe in redemption and I still see signs of nobility even among we fallen, damned creatures. So, I could not bring myself to call this blog “On the Damned Human Race.” I do however, resonate with another of Clemmons stories; “The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg.” And viola, there you have it. “Observations From Hadleyville.”