Our return to an in-person celebration of the birth of Jesus is also an opportunity to think about how we have done Christmas in the past—and perhaps even make some adjustments.
Jim McDermott
Jim McDermott writes about pop culture at jimmcdermott.substack.
Posted inFaith, Faith in Focus
Joe Biden’s Oval Office ‘Hagar the Horrible’ cartoon is filled with Catholic hope and expectation
President Joe Biden installed a new touch of his own to the White House: a framed copy of a “Hagar the Horrible” cartoon. In it, Hagar yells to the sky, “Why me?” to which God replies, “Why not?”
Posted inArts & Culture, Television
From ‘Ted Lasso’ to ‘Squid Game’ to ‘Midnight Mass,’ 2021 was a strange but wonderful year in TV
In 2021, there seemed to be fewer series to watch, or fewer worth watching. But a few stood out.
Posted inArts & Culture, Television
Jimmy McGovern, the atheist with the most Catholic shows on British TV
Jimmy McGovern’s work is marked by a very Catholic instinct to look where no one else will.
Posted inArts & Culture, Ideas
Christmas pageants and school plays are back. Thank God.
We are now in the season of schools plays and Christmas concerts. In the past, it’s been something of an endurance test, hasn’t it? But maybe it’s different this year.
Posted inArts & Culture, Podcasts
Joyful and triumphant: ‘O Come All Ye Faithful’ brings a message of hope to those who are suffering
We do not generally think about Christmas carols as about a battle. And yet what does it mean for the Christ child to be our savior, if not a blessed release from some kind of struggle?
Posted inArts & Culture, Podcasts
There’s a reason you love to belt out ‘Hark! The Herald Angels Sing’
“There’s a logic that is embedded in the melodies of these tunes that helps the congregation remember them,” Maestro Colin Britt explains on the latest episode of “Hark!”
Posted inFaith, Faith in Focus
The time I was St. Nicholas for 72 college freshmen
You can have your Vegas heist movies, Hollywood; I will take the hustle in which a bunch of college guys end up secretly delivering gifts to freshmen every time.
Posted inArts & Culture, Podcasts
‘O Come, O Come, Emmanuel’: Advent’s Most Haunting Carol
As odd as it sounds, the song’s uncertain quality is actually quite fitting. Unlike other popular carols, “Emmanuel” is a song not for Christmas but for Advent.
Posted inAdvent Reflections, Faith
St. Andrew: the patron saint of younger (or overshadowed) siblings
In this season of Advent, when we are trying to free our hearts for the Lord, perhaps we can put some of our own struggles with siblings into St. Andrew’s hands.