In the face of such times, what is there to like about Christmas? Why do I appreciate the Christmas story? What is in that simple story that we can and should ponder and treasure?

This is a true story from the Bible. Lots of stories are not true. Children know this. I did not want to read "The Cat in the Hat" and then "The Christmas Story" and act as if they were the same.

One thing that seems to unite the Christian and the average Canadian is having firm opinions about Christmas trees. In particular, whether you should have a real tree or a fake tree.

I think there are several reasons why many Christians have started celebrating Advent. One is that Christians want to make a clearer distinction between Biblical/Christian Christmas and Canadian Christmas.