Originally published at National Catholic Register
“There is no more dangerous or disgusting habit than that of celebrating Christmas before it comes, as I am doing in this article.” Thus wrote, or confessed, G. K. Chesterton in an essay entitled “Christmas that is Coming,” published in the Illustrated London News in 1906. Now, following Chesterton’s ignoble example, I am going to indulge the same “dangerous or disgusting habit.”
To be fair to myself, and to Chesterton, I don’t really think that getting into the Christmas spirit in the days and weeks before the feast is exactly synonymous with celebrating the feast itself. Isn’t such a spirit part of the necessary preparation? Aren’t we supposed to have a childlike glow as we do the Christmas shopping? Shouldn’t there be a Dickensian decorum to our preparation? Aren’t we meant to be full of the expectant joy of Bob Cratchit or Tiny Tim or Mr. Fezzywig? Isn’t a failure to get into the spirit in preparedness for the joyful season a sign of Scroogish tendencies?
Having defended myself, and Chesterton, from any pharisaical guardians of the feast, I’m going to risk the ire of lovers of Christmas by confessing that I prefer good old Father Christmas to that new-fangled
