Free Republic

To Dad--who knew how to keep Christmas well Candle wicks, like memories, flicker faintly at times, and burn brightly at others. Dickens could have been writing about my father, William Christian Stoos, when he said of Scrooge that he knew how to keep Christmas well. Dad was the Spirit of Christmas in our household. Each year he anticipated the holiday with a childlike glee. Although a stoic man, and deeply spiritual, he became a child at Christmas time—his favorite time of the year. Whether it was the gaudy Christmas tree with its 2,000 lights that warmed our cozy house, the...

What Christmas means to Christians..and why.

If I came up to you and asked you how what the spirit of Christmas means to you, how would you respond? Let’s see if your answers would match the answers I would expect if I did ask. I think that if I asked that question some would answer saying that the Spirit of Christmas is about being with your friends or relatives for the Holidays. Yet the reality for too many people is that spending Christmas with their loved ones, if they go so far as to actually call them “loved” ones often becomes a chore, as many people...