Merry Christmas, Everyone!

What's Right with Realism.

I must say that I appreciate reminders of the authentic experience of mangers, and Jesus' birth being in Israel (i.e. not in the cold and bleak mid-winter, no snow fallen on snow; sorry, Christina Rosetti).  Here's two good ones:

And here's another good reminder of what the manger scene might have actually looked like.

Even though, you know that donkey's going to eat baby Jesus' cradle hay. 

Divine Cuteness

If you really want to convey this message of Jesus' birth being among the 'least' of these, you would do better to portray an ugly, pitiable-looking baby, not a gleaming infant so adorable that all the other beady-eyed cute baby animals are drawn around him, with plans to attack and disfigure him and steal back the attention of Hallmark card designers across the land.

Eyes on Love

Sadly, big round, black pupils fail to make every animal equally adorable.  Especially not roosters.

Wimps and Whimsy

Dang, we are SPOILED.  Back in the day, people had to ride out in an open-top carriage to visit friends, with only a blanket ('and their love') to keep them warm.  Now we can cruise over in a nice heated car.  Or, better yet, sit at home and poke them on facebook.

I very well might have been the one staying home by the fire, letting the friends visit ME.

-----

Only in an era where folks can roll down the block to the local grocery store parking lot to pick up a tree does the image of a poor guy hauling a tree through the snow evoke nostalgia instead of empathy. 

Note that he was wise enough to pick a rather small tree relative to others out there.

Solstice Special: The Sadness of Snowmen

Okay, these are not Christmas cards.  They are real, live photographs of scenes I have seen this month. 

Please peruse.... the sad and melting:



The sad and poorly inflated, unable to even stand up straight:

And finally, the saddest of all.  The snowmen with the painfully large eyeballs (the bigger the cuter, right?):

Thank you, Midway Airport gift shop, for the worst toy of Christmas.

O Tannenwreath

This card makes me think one thing:

MMmmm, yogurt raisins.