TY - BOOK AU - Last,Jonathan V. TI - The Christmas virtues: a treasury of conservative tales for the holidays SN - 1599475162 PY - 2016/// CY - West Conshohocken, PA PB - Templeton Press KW - Christmas stories N1 - Acknowledgments --; Introduction; The miracle of Christmas; Jonathan V. Last --; Chapter 1: The Christmas spirit; In defense of Ebenezer Scrooge; Rob Long --; Chapter 2: The commercialization of Christmas; God moves (the merchandise) in a mysterious way; P. J. O'Rourke --; Chapter 3: Season's greetings!; Ten simple rules for sending Christmas cards; Joe Queenan --; Chapter 4: Jingle bell rock; Taking the Christ out of Christmas songs; Andrew Ferguson --; Chapter 5: Oh, Tannenbaum; A tradition unlike any other; Christopher Caldwell --; Chapter 6: The nativity stories; The best (and worst) Christmas movies ever; Sonny Bunch --; Chapter 7: Home for the holidays; The trials and tribulations of family; Matt Labash --; Chapter 8: Saint Nicholas: friend or foe?; A document dump from Santa's secret email server; David "Iowahawk" Burge --; Chapter 9: All good gifts; Tickle me Elmo and the madness of Christmas toys; Heather Wilhelm --; Chapter 10: Here comes Santa Claus; The wonder of Christmas morning; Stephen F. Hayes --; Chapter 11: The ghosts of Christmas; Holidays past and present; Toby Young --; Chapter 12: The war on Christmas; It's real, and it's spectacular; Jonah Goldberg --; Chapter 13: Jews who love Christmas; We all love Christmas magic; Larry Miller --; Chapter 14: I'm dreaming of a Jewish Christmas; Celebrating a day you don't really share; Joseph Epstein --; Chapter 15: The greatest of these is hope; The impossible promises of Christmas; Michael Graham --; Chapter 16: Saint Joseph; The forgotten "Father Christmas"; Christopher Buckley --; Chapter 17: Mary, mother of all; The real miracles of the virgin birth aren't what you think; Mollie Hemingway --; Chapter 18: The first noel; Christmas with Jesus; Kirsten Powers --; Chapter 19: The day after; The illusion of returning to normal; James Lileks --; About the contributors N2 - "The Christmas season is a minefield of terrors: the family get-togethers with weird uncles, the sloppy office parties, the annoying ten-page Look-at-Us holiday letters--and we haven't even mentioned the Black Friday mobs and that wretched Alvin and the Chipmunks song that plays every ninety minutes on Pandora, whether you like it or not. And don't forget the PC police lurking around every corner looking to beat the last bits of joy out of our society. Merry Christmas? Really? 'Tis the season to recapture the wonder of Christmas, in our hearts and in our homes and even out in the public square. The Christmas Virtues is a humorous companion for, and guide to, navigating the trials and tribulations of the holiday season. It's a reminder of how we can embrace the joy, hope, and love of Christmas. And it's a call for us to stand up on behalf of Christmas because America needs it now, more than ever." -- ER -