The Christmas Eve service was beautiful last night. Lights were twinkling, carols were playing, candles were burning, people were singing and smiling and laughing and hugging and wishing each other a Merry Christmas. Excited children crowded to the front when the pastor told the children’s story. The...

  I am fairly new to the tradition of lighting candles for advent and have had a few confusing moments. Do you light the “joy” candle before the “love” candle – and where does “peace” figure in? For that matter, flaming candles in a wreath of laurel seems like a recipe for...

I love great fantasy/adventure tales, especially ones in which ordinary people in ordinary places find an escape, or rather a hidden entrance, into another world where anything is possible. In the Harry Potter stories – my personal favorite – children run through a brick wall in London’s...

Does Christmas music make anyone else crazy? At a certain time of year, we just can’t escape it. From Black Friday to White Christmas, it is all a distraction, and the soundtrack to the season seeps everywhere. Love them or hate them, these songs have little to nothing to do with the original Christmas....

We have a Christmas tradition around these parts.  Every year, we re-post Burnside’s most popular article of all time: “The Abominable ‘O Holy Night’”.  Along with the Advent Conspiracy, this insanely awful little diddy gets us in the Christmas spirit. The Abominable O...

As I walked through the front door of the post office, I was faced with a choice. On my left was a vending machine from which I could purchase books of stamps, and to my right was the customer service desk, where I could make the same purchase from actual human beings. Because there was no line at...

It’s beginning to look a little like Christmas. You know what that means? Bell weather. During the Christmas shopping season (known liturgically as “Advent”) men and women brave the cold to stand outside stores, ringing bells and collecting change for the Salvation Army. It’s...

I’d never watched an episode of Extreme Home Makeover in its entirety before. I have clicked on the TV and caught the last ten-minutes where they move the bus and the family sees their brand new home for the first time. I always get caught up in the family’s emotions and find myself welling back...

(Editor’s Note: I wrote an article a couple weeks ago for Relevant Magazine on Advent Conspiracy, a growing movement that seeks to liberate Christmas from the idolatry of over-consumerism. Prior to writing the article, I posted a note on the Burnside blog looking for people who had participated...

Linus: I don’t know, Charlie Brown. Remember what Lucy said? This doesn’t seem to fit the modern spirit. Charlie Brown: I don’t care. We’ll decorate it and it’ll be just right for our play. Besides, I think it needs me. I watch Schulz’s gem every year. Its one of...