1. 12 Things to Do on the 12 Days of Christmas
Don’t take down that tree just yet. Remember that Christmas is an entire season. Today we celebrate the Feast of St. Stephen — the first Christian martyr. Let these ideas take you all the way through Epiphany.
2. ICYMI: Why Jesus Was, and Is, a Political Threat
“The language of Mary is the narrative of revolution and redistribution, two words that the powers that be just hate. And while the revolution that Christ brings is not violent, it is nonetheless completely transformational. Mary got it.”
3. Las Posadas: Searching for an Inn
Washington Post features the Hispanic Christian tradition of recreating Joseph and Mary’s search for shelter. “Making it real, and making it something that’s close to home, fits in closely with Hispanic/Latino theology.”
4. Americans’ Quest for the Christmas of their Childhoods
Sojourners Senior Associate Web Editor Catherine Woodiwiss is over at The Atlantic with an examination of our economic culture of nostalgia, especially around the Christmas season.
5. What’s Causing This Warm Christmas In the Eastern U.S.?
Or, basically, do I have to feel bad about enjoying it?
6. Joy to the World, the Lord Has Come
“Finding space to rejoice during seasons of longing can often feel like smiling through a bad compliment or worse, an act of being ignored, forgotten or dismissed. Gifts and cookies do not provide that magical cure that help you forget, despite the momentary glimmer that flashes by one’s heart.
7. WATCH: Grinch Getaway …
In case you thought you saw him along your Christmas travels.
8. Why Are Evangelicals Supporting Ted Cruz and Donald Trump?
A nice explainer: “Why are evangelicals, who historically have supported immigration reform and a path to citizenship for deeply felt religious and moral reasons, gravitating towards the two candidates who are most hostile to policy changes that would accommodate and integrate undocumented immigrants into American life?”
9. Data Visualization: Christmas Is Peak Break-Up Season
(According to Facebook status updates … and anecdotal human experiences.)
10. Top 50 Books for Christian Readers to Watch for in 2016
Spoiler Alert: Both Jim Wallis’ America’s Original Sin and Lisa Sharon Harper’s The Very Good Gospel make the Englewood Review of Books’ annual list! You should probably preorder those now and then check out what else you should be reading!
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