When Donald Trump swaggered to a Southern podium just before the recent Senate election in Alabama, trying to rally his base behind the right-wing zealot and accused pedophile Roy Moore, the stage was decorated with banners declaring “Merry Christmas.” People in the crowd held up green letters spelling out the salutation. A vast banner with…
Maybe you find yourself quietly humming along to Christmas songs, not wanting to attract attention to yourself out of a sense of embarrassment or guilt. Maybe you find yourself at this time of year overwhelmed or oppressed by the onslaught of overplayed Christmas ditties pretending to be “holiday songs.” Maybe you secretly love Christmas songs…
While anticipating the harmonious a cappella of Christmas Carols at my doorstep, I recall the words of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, “Music is the universal language of mankind.” The music of Christmas represents peace, joy and hope and it has become a genre of its very own. But contrary to common thought, Christmas in America was…
As you’re doing that last-minute Hanukkah shopping, the Liberty Counsel, a relatively small Christian Right organization best known for defending Kentucky clerk Kim Davis, has a few ideas for you. For several years the Liberty Counsel has prepared a “Naughty or Nice” list of retailers who celebrate the “holidays” in general (naughty) and those who…
Fundraising emails are a common sight this time of the year, but this latest, landing even in inboxes of Jewish recipients, stands out as a bit unusual. “Wish the First Family a Merry Christmas,” reads the message, pasted over a photo of Donald and Melania Trump in front of what seems to be the national…
The year was 1955 and I was eight years old. Back then Christmas was a magical time, even for us Jews. I recall that nearly every school held a Christmas pageant that featured stories, carols and the grand finale — a living Nativity scene with boys and girls dressed as the kings and angels, wise…
Every year, conservatives declare there’s a war on Christmas if a manger is barred from a federal building or if there is no Christmas tree in their kid’s school. The outrage is even often focused on the Starbuck’s audacity to celebrate the holiday by printing offensive cups – this time depicting a lesbian couple. The…
I’ve been a musician since my first recorder lessons 50 years ago. My vision was to be the first woman conducting a major symphony, but Sarah Caldwell snagged that spot at precisely the moment I was graduating from high school. So much of the music I performed had its roots in Christian liturgy. Most of…
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