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“Puritans, Pagans, and Imperfect Christmas Gifts”

“Puritans, Pagans, and Imperfect Christmas Gifts”

Last updated on: December 25, 2022 at 8:57 am by Dan Peterson

“Puritans, Pagans, and Imperfect Christmas Gifts” 2022-12-25T08:57:44-07:00 Dan Peterson

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“The Virgin of the Lilies” (La Vierge au lys [1899]), by William-Adolphe Bouguereau
(Wikimedia Commons public domain image)

For the better part of a decade now, Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship has published special essays — usually more personal, and not necessarily academic — for Christmas and Easter. They always appear on the Friday prior to the holiday (or sometimes, obviously, in the case of Christmas, on the Friday of the very holiday itself). This year’s Christmas essay has now appeared, accompanied by an audio version that is read by the author:

“Puritans, Pagans, and Imperfect Christmas Gifts,” written by David F. Holland:

Abstract: Early American campaigns against Christmas illustrate both the irrepressibility of the impulse to celebrate Christ and what is lost when we reject the good that comes from suspect sources. Both lessons point us toward the Savior’s gracious acceptance of our own imperfect offerings.

***

Here are the previous Christmas essays that we’ve published in Interpreter:

Orson Scott Card wrote our first, for Christmas 2014:

http://www.mormoninterpreter.com/christmas-is-about-a-baby/#more-6417

Clayton Christensen wrote our Christmas message for 2015:

http://www.mormoninterpreter.com/he-did-it-a-christmas-message/#more-7981

Sharon Eubank wrote our Christmas message for 2016:

https://www.mormoninterpreter.com/the-song-i-cannot-sing/

Our Christmas 2017 essay came from Jenny Oaks Baker:

https://www.mormoninterpreter.com/author/jennyb/

Elder Spencer J. Condie provided the 2018 Christmas piece:

https://journal.interpreterfoundation.org/christmas-in-transition-from-figgy-pudding-to-the-bread-of-life/

The Christmas essay for 2019 came from Kristine Wardle Frederickson:

https://journal.interpreterfoundation.org/musings-on-the-birth-of-the-savior-jesus-christ/

Cherry Bushman Silver contributed the 2020 Christmas essay:

https://journal.interpreterfoundation.org/christmas-as-devotional-a-time-of-commitment/

Owing to a last-minute glitch, I myself was obliged to step in for the 2021 Christmas piece:

https://journal.interpreterfoundation.org/christmas-and-a-condescending-god/

***

Today actually does mark the (217th) anniversary of the birth of the Prophet Joseph Smith. I posted something on the matter yesterday (see “Noting Tomorrow’s Anniversary of the Birth of Joseph Smith”) and, just now, I’ve remembered another article of relevance that I wrote back in 2020:

“Light Began Once More to Grow”

Abstract: Readers are surely aware that the birth of the Christ child is the reason we celebrate Christmas. Members of the Church may be less aware, though, of the notable birth of a child, millennia later, of distant secondary importance.

In honor of the Prophet, whom I revere, I watched this 5.5-minute video, which is accompanied by a powerfully emotional rendition of John Taylor’s “O Give Me Back My Prophet Dear.” John Taylor, it will be recalled, was grievously wounded in the same cowardly mob attack in Carthage, Illinois, that claimed the lives of Joseph Smith and his brother, the Patriarch Hyrum Smith. Elder Taylor went on, eventually, to serve as the third president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I remember them today. Some others do, as well . . . in order to mock them. See Matthew 23:31.

***

New Interpreter journal articles continue to appear every single Friday of the year, and new installments of the Interpreter Radio Show continue to be broadcast every single Sunday of the year. Lately, in anticipation of 2023 and its new curriculum (devoted to the New Testament), we’ve modified the structure and format of our weekly radio program. Here are four examples of that new format, which we hope you will both enjoy and find useful:

Interpreter Radio Show — November 27, 2022

For this late-November episode of the Interpreter Radio Show broadcast, Steve Densley, Mark Johnson, Matt Bowen, and guest Kerry Muhlestein discussed Professor Muhlestein’s new book Finding Promised Blessings on the Covenant Path. The “New Testament in Context” portion of this show, for Come, Follow Me New Testament lesson 2, covering Matthew 1 and Luke 1, will be posted on Tuesday, December 27.

The Interpreter Radio Show is available live on the radio on Sunday evenings from 7 to 9 PM (MDT), on K-TALK, AM 1640. If you’re too enamored of computer technology to deign to listen to in on the radio, though, you can nonetheless listen to it live on the Internet at ktalkmedia.com.

Interpreter Radio Show — December 4, 2022

In this iteration of the regular Interpreter Radio Show, Neal Rappleye, Jasmin Rappleye, and Stephen Smoot discussed a variety of topics with their characteristic vitality. And their conversation is now available to you at no charge. The “New Testament in Context” portion of this show, for Come, Follow Me New Testament lesson 3, covering Matthew 2 and Luke 2, will be posted on Tuesday, 3 January 2023.

The Interpreter Radio Show can be heard Sunday evenings from 7 to 9 PM (MDT), on K-TALK, AM 1640. Or, if your sins or your location in, say, American Fork or North Salt Lake prevent you from listening on the radio, you can listen live on the Internet at ktalkmedia.com.

Interpreter Radio Show — December 11, 202 2:

In this episode of the weekly Interpreter Radio Show, the discussants for the first hour are Terry Hutchinson, John Gee, and Kevin Christensen. During the second hour, they are joined by special guest S. Kent Brown. The “New Testament in Context” portion of this show, for Come, Follow Me New Testament lesson 4, covering John 1, will be posted on Tuesday, 10 January 2023.

The Interpreter Radio Show can be heard each and every Sunday evening of the year from 7 to 9 PM (MDT), on K-TALK, AM 1640. If you can’t get it on the radio, you can listen live on the Internet at ktalkmedia.com.

Interpreter Radio Show — December 18, 2022

For this, the 18 December 2022 installment of the Interpreter Radio Show, the discussants were Bruce Webster and Kris Frederickson. It is now available to you at no charge in a recorded and archived form that has been purified from commercial and other extraneous distractions. The “New Testament in Context” portion of this show, for Come, Follow Me New Testament lesson 5, covering Matthew 3, Mark 1, and Luke 3, will be posted on Tuesday, 17 January 2023.

The Interpreter Radio Show can be heard Sunday evenings from 7 to 9 PM (MDT), on K-TALK, AM 1640, or you can listen live on the Internet at ktalkmedia.com.

***

Finally, I close with some items from the Christopher Hitchens Memorial “How Religion Poisons Everything” File©, so desperately necessary at this time of the year when theists attempt to seize and exploit the Xmas season for their nefarious religious purposes:

“Light and Hope Reach Millions Through #LightTheWorld Inspired Activities: #LightTheWorld initiative sparks service in Ghana, Vietnam, and elsewhere”

“Church of Jesus Christ To Support Special Olympics World Games 2023 in Berlin: Young adults from all over Europe will volunteer at the event”

“How the Church’s Donation to the World Food Programme Is Blessing Refugees in Kenya: The Church of Jesus Christ gave US$32 million to WFP in September 2022”

This September 2018 Smithsonian Magazine article, too, was located in the vicinity of the Hitchens File:

“What Made P.D. East the Fearless Wit of Forrest County: The newspaper man’s bravery rocked the racist establishment of the South—and heralded a new era of political satire”: “William Faulkner, who hosted the group, asked East how a man with his background had come to hold his views on equality. “Bill,” East said, “I think for the simple reason that I believe in God.””

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John A. Bartlett Professor of New England Church History

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