A. Barton Hinkle on the True Meaning of Christmas

Like the madman in Chesterton’s “Orthodoxy,”
people with strong political feelings about Christmas are “trapped
in the well-lit prison of one idea…sharpened to one painful
point.” One wants to say to them, look: If British and German
soldiers could sing carols together at Ypres in WWI, then the rest
of us are entitled to give politics a break for one lousy day.
Here, have some peppermint bark. After all, writes A. Barton
Hinkle, giving people a break is what the holiday is all about. The
story of Christmas is the story of a wrathful, smiting God who had
a change of heart. A God who said: “You know what? All those
horrible, awful, things you’ve done? Forgiven. We’re going to wipe
the slate clean and start over. Yet get a second chance.”