Tony, wonderful WSJ essay. We're weaning ourselves too, of the madness... We've begun a tradition of going to the old folks home on Christmas morning. Our children sing for them in their foyer, great room, dining room and hallways (we've even got some able to harmonize this year!) - then we typically visit around for at least an hour... going home to our "family Christmas" seems so much more peaceful after we give first... we all are kinder and more patient. We went caroling last week, impromptu - WE were the ones that were blessed - two REALLY cool experiences... He is always surprising us... Thanks again for the bigger picture. I pray you all feel His hands this CHRISTmas... love from Texas

Tony,

Concerning the problem you were casting about to solve in the WSJ essay ...

Many within our parish have had success in "converting" the typical American Christmas consumer-gasm, by reverting to not-all-that-old traditions in Western Christendom concerning Advent. What has made this effort successful, I think, is its communal aspects. In other words, the success we enjoy is possibly impossible to achieve apart from a community which aides, abets, encourages, and augments the particulars. Here's what we do (none of it "our" ideas; just stuff we're copying from our great-great-grandparents in the faith):

1. Make Advent a penitential season.

As such it will *lack* the festoonery of festival. How we do this ...

In our church worship, we remove all music. No hymns, no organ, no chanting. All our services -- though by the Prayer Book -- are "said services." No flowers on the altar. The altar vestments are purple, the penitential color. The point is not to be gloomy, but rather spartan, focused, stripped down for serious work, not festooned for feasting and merry-making (which comes later).

For the past three years, our parish has observed a Compline service once each week of Advent. A candlight service, it is full of Advent Scripture readings, prayers of confession, petitions for the poor, the martyrs (yes, there are a great many of them around the world!), those sick in body and soul. A good portion of this service is given to the offering of contemplative music -- the acapella chanting of Psalms, the performance of quiet, contemplative music from periods of history that our modern culture has cast off as simply too, too ancient to be interesting. In part, it is our deliberate turning away from the commercialized, ninny-neener musical scrofula that infests every public environment. Outside they sing "Jingle Bells." Inside we sing "O Come, O Come, Immanuel," each Compline adding one more verse than the last.

During this penitential season, as in the longer Lent, individuals and families set themselves to devising works meet for repentence. Sometimes it's new personal disciplines of prayer or Bible reading/memorizing. More often it is works of charity. Our community (like any one's) is filled with opportunities to serve the poor, the isolated. Attention turned in these directions during Advent often remains there afterwards. These are good gifts to render to the one who gave Himself for us.

In our homes, many families have moved their home decoration later and later into December as they adjust to this new rhythm (which, actually, is a very old rhythm). Some now do not put up a Christmas tree until Christmas Eve. There may indeed be preparation for the coming feast, but it is done and held back, for the feast. Again, they're copying something old and sensible. This is no innovation.

2. Mark the feast with a burst of festivity.

In good western catholic (note the small "c") fashion, sundown on December 24 is the boundary. Fasting turns to feasting. Penitence breaks out in rejoicing. In church and home, festal dress and holiday decor appear for the first time, and they remain through the twelve days of Christmas (i.e. up to and including Ephiphany on January 6). It's in these days, and only these days, that we sing Christmas Carols.

One very surprising result of this shift has been the opportunity for Christian witness, for others, we've discovered, notice. Reflecting on these changes over the past three years, I've begun to understand how much we owe to one another's company and encouragement to make these changes.

Tony,

I hope many people have emailed this link to you already, but in case not:

http://www.adventconspiracy.org/

God's blessings this Christmas and always,

Tari
Houston, TX

Tony,
I read the WSJ article and it prompted me to share my somewhat similar take on seasonal traditions.
It seems like the in thing with Christmas cards is to send a picture of your kids with some holiday message on them. It used to be that a card would have a manger scene or some depiction of the baby Jesus. Jesus has now been replaced by our kids. Is this trend just a reflection of our belief that "our kids" are now the central focus of the season and that the birth of Jesus is just a sideshow, if that?
My quess is that this seemingly inocuous "trend" typifies what has already happened to Christmas.
Your thoughts on this would be appreciated.

"Things would get worse for Luther" (page 4)

Sometimes I laugh manically to myself while remembering that sentence, and watching my holidays be savaged by bunches of ... relatives ... who inspire fantasies of escape in my fevered brain.

I imagine Grisham sitting in his basement with a bottle of hard liquor, plunking away on an old type-writer, while hordes of noisy relatives swarm the house!

Nice essay! Similar thoughts have crossed my mind; I blogged about it on my other blog (http://bogners.typepad.com/church).

As a Catholic (of the big-C variety) I've always had the Advent season as a way of preparing for Christmas, and then the 'season' of Christmas after that. The liturgical calendar does help set the mood; but it's still hard to swim upstream against the shopping, social overload, etc. And, we've always lived at least a few hundred miles from the closest family, so shuttling around on Christmas Eve/Day just doesn't happen; that's one nice thing about keeping some distance...