Christmas is much more than a festive season

Elizabeth Farrelly finds her inner yearning for tradition, The Sydney Morning Herald, Saturday:

Throughout yuletide several of my e-acquaintances have adopted the scrupulously religion-free sign-off “have a lovely festive season” … But, like all euphemisms, our murky reluctance to call Christmas by its name enables a dangerous hypocrisy.

Donald Trump tweets on Christmas Eve last year:

People are proud to be saying Merry Christmas again. I am proud to have led the charge against the assault of our cherished and beautiful phrase. Merry Christmas.

Christopher Caldwell explains, The Spectator, December 14:

When he was running for president, Trump promised … to make Christmas more central to the country’s culture, and urged using the expression Merry Christmas … “The word Christmas … I love Christmas.”

Getting into the Christmas spirit was The Daily Telegraph’s Sauce column, December 16:

Malcolm Turnbull may have run out of friends in the Liberal Party, but ex-staff members are sticking by him … the former PM (opened) his home to his political staff for a work Christmas party … Turnbull appeared to be enjoying a lunchtime Aperol spritz overlooking Sydney Harbour. The Sauce understands not every member of the former PM’s staff got an invite, with a few former advisers miffed as to why they weren’t asked.

Believer in Santa Claus, Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite tweets, December 13:

Christmas wish: finally decide what you really want and Santa will deliver.

A season for pay rises and drinking. Brietbart, December 18:

European commissioners and other eurocrats are receiving substantial pay rises for Christmas, while the unelected executive’s president Jean-Claude Juncker has been pictured having to be “supported by two employees” at a dinner in Vienna.

London’s The Sunday Times warns the EU, June 2014:

The frontrunner to be the next head of the European Commission was “dead drunk”, vulgar and aggressive in an official meeting when he was prime minister of Luxembourg, according to the accounts of two witnesses given to The Times. It was alleged that Jean-Claude Juncker smelt of alcohol and fired a volley of expletives at the head of intelligence services for about five minutes.

David Samuel risks God’s wrath. The Guardian, December 20:

It would be nice if Christmas was not simply a retail event for some people, splurging … Envy, gluttony and greed are three of the seven deadly sins — even non-believers should remain cognisant of that. But hey, we all get a public holiday for the alleged birth of a supernatural being with a famously absent father.

Was the nativity the greatest story told? Not according to The Washington Post, December 19:

Twentieth Century Fox … said the Bruce Willis action flick Die Hard … is not just any Christmas story, but “the greatest Christmas story ever told”.

Baleful news from South China Morning Post, yesterday:

Father Christmas will not be visiting one northern Chinese town this year as officials there have ordered the removal of all festive decorations and banned shops from holding sales to “maintain stability” … anyone caught selling Christmas trees (or) stockings … would be punished.