Overview

"Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year--or at least we want it to be. Too often our celebration of Jesus' birthday is overwhelmed by bright lights and tinsel, overspending and overeating, plus constant chatter about a """"war on Christmas."""" Can't we do better than this? There are two Christmases. One is sacred. One is secular. The two have clashed in one """"culture war"""" or another for 1,700 years. Christmas is not (as some falsely claim) a pagan holiday, but pagan-influenced traditions are part of the seasonal clutter. Keeping Christmas is about helping you find joy in a season of excess and strife. Part survival guide, part history, part cultural commentary, and all laced with spiritual reflection, this book is about how you can celebrate in ways that are most meaningful to you and your family. It's not easy to thread your way through the Christmas maze. But if Ebenezer Scrooge could learn to keep Christmas well, so can you. Maybe it's time to reinvent Christmas. Maybe we can get it right this time."

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9781532695377

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Reviews

Think of a question about Christmas--its origin, its purpose, its commercial defilement, its joy--and the Rev. James A. Hopwood, like the good journalist he was earlier in his life, answers it in this engaging new book. Hopwood guides Christians toward choosing to celebrate not the avaricious secular version of Christmas but, rather, the Christmas that commemorates the astonishing incarnation of God in Christ. In its gentleness of spirit and clarity of purpose, this book is a gift. --Bill Tammeus, journalist, Presbyterian elder and former president of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists Here is a book that will reshape how you understand and celebrate Christmas! Hopwood combines a fascinating account of the origin and history of Christmas with practical insight on how we can faithfully experience the coming of the Christ-child today. He skillfully navigates between withdrawal from our contemporary culture and capitulation to its values. The result is a thoroughly enjoyable and useful book that deserves a wide audience. --Henry H. Knight III, Professor of Wesleyan Studies and Professor of Evangelism, Saint Paul School of Theology, Leawood, Kansas

Think of a question about Christmas--its origin, its purpose, its commercial defilement, its joy--and the Rev. James A. Hopwood, like the good journalist he was earlier in his life, answers it in this engaging new book. Hopwood guides Christians toward choosing to celebrate not the avaricious secular version of Christmas but, rather, the Christmas that commemorates the astonishing incarnation of God in Christ. In its gentleness of spirit and clarity of purpose, this book is a gift. --Bill Tammeus, journalist, Presbyterian elder and former president of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists Here is a book that will reshape how you understand and celebrate Christmas! Hopwood combines a fascinating account of the origin and history of Christmas with practical insight on how we can faithfully experience the coming of the Christ-child today. He skillfully navigates between withdrawal from our contemporary culture and capitulation to its values. The result is a thoroughly enjoyable and useful book that deserves a wide audience. --Henry H. Knight III, Professor of Wesleyan Studies and Professor of Evangelism, Saint Paul School of Theology, Leawood, Kansas

"""Think of a question about Christmas--its origin, its purpose, its commercial defilement, its joy--and the Rev. James A. Hopwood, like the good journalist he was earlier in his life, answers it in this engaging new book. Hopwood guides Christians toward choosing to celebrate not the avaricious secular version of Christmas but, rather, the Christmas that commemorates the astonishing incarnation of God in Christ. In its gentleness of spirit and clarity of purpose, this book is a gift."" --Bill Tammeus, journalist, Presbyterian elder and former president of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists ""Here is a book that will reshape how you understand and celebrate Christmas! Hopwood combines a fascinating account of the origin and history of Christmas with practical insight on how we can faithfully experience the coming of the Christ-child today. He skillfully navigates between withdrawal from our contemporary culture and capitulation to its values. The result is a thoroughly enjoyable and useful book that deserves a wide audience."" --Henry H. Knight III, Professor of Wesleyan Studies and Professor of Evangelism, Saint Paul School of Theology, Leawood, Kansas"

Author Information

James A. Hopwood is a United Methodist pastor who lives near Kansas City. He's a second-career pastor; his first career was journalism. Though officially retired, he continues to serve small-town churches in Kansas. His wife, Linda, also is a pastor. They have two grown daughters and one grandson.

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