For the past two Christmas seasons, my wife and I have given a Disney trip to our kids. In part, this has to do with knowing that the magic of childhood will only last for a little while. In part, it has to do with wanting to visit somewhere warm during the winter. And in part, it has to do with the new book project I have embarked upon, looking at how Disney uses History. Or, maybe we just have a "Disney problem"--going to the parks is fun! This year, thanks in part to my sister-in-law now living in Los Angeles, we decided to go to the original park, Disneyland! If what follows is a bit disjointed, please blame it on the post holiday/post trip jet lag.
As we had hoped, the trip was full of fun (despite the weather being very un-California like), and it was great to walk the streets Walt laid out. While I won't spoil the eventual book that this trip is going to help inform with a lot of professorial ramblings, I know that some friends were wondering about how Disneyland compares to Walt Disney World and so below are some observations based on our experience. But let me just say at the outset, if you are planning on going to either park, make sure that you visit Disney's website but also visit Tom Bricker's awesome blog about all things Disney--both are packed with info and insight.
First off, some advice that was given to me: You can't go in expecting Disneyland to be exactly like Disney World. If you do, you might run into some problems! There are similarities (of course) between Disneyland and the Magic Kingdom, in terms of general layout and rides (at least in their names), but the differences are real--and if you expect it to be a carbon copy (and thus "know" what you'll encounter) you will be dismayed (and I suppose, perhaps even disappointed). The flip side is also true (I was told that people who are used to Disneyland often feel overwhelmed by the Magic Kingdom).
A few examples are in order. There are different rides at Disneyland that you won't find at the Magic Kingdom. We had a great time on the Matterhorn, Alice in Wonderland's ride, and Pinocchio's ride as well. Then there was "nostalgia" for us anyway, in that Disneyland still has Mr. Toad's Wild Ride and the converted 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea ride (re-themed around Finding Nemo) attraction. These are well worth spending the time in line for. Even the rides that are duplicated in both Florida and California are often different (case in point for me, was the Winnie the Pooh ride, which I would argue is superior in the Magic Kingdom) and fun. There is also the fun of encountering new and different themed areas (like New Orleans Square).
Rides alone, of course, aren't enough to justify a trip out to California. But don't let that sentence dissuade you, dear reader! Though Disneyland and Magic Kingdom are quite similar (even though they are different--the biggest being the size. Disneyland is much, much smaller, and that can cause crowd issues, because Disney does not have the room to keep everyone in line out of sight), what truly made our visit worth it (from a non-academic standpoint) was the California Adventure park (the so called "second gate" to Disneyland). Cars Land alone is worth the price of admission. California Adventure (which was once Disneyland's parking lot if the stories are true) does have the room to be "Disney-esque" when it comes to crowd control. If you know Walt Disney World like the back of your hand, you'll quickly be at home in California Adventure.
There is another thing to say, when it comes to the parks and the issue of size. Nestled in between Disneyland and California Adventure is California's version of Downtown Disney. It is nice to have everything together and walkable, really walkable. As in, once you pass through the main gate, you can see and pick from all three locations from the central plaza. You can spend the day in a park, have dinner and shop in Downtown Disney all on foot. As my wife put it, that option is "a nice diversion."
That being said, there were few other things that I should note, which jumped out to us. First, there seemed to be more food option locations (in terms of snacks) in Disneyland than at the Magic Kingdom. Second, there did not seem to be as many character opportunities in Disneyland as there are in the Magic Kingdom. That is not to say you won't see characters, you will. It just takes a bit more planning when you are at Disneyland (and from what we observed, there are even fewer opportunities over in California Adventure). I would also say that the shows we saw were awesome (Mickey and the Magical Map was neat, the Fantasmic show was better in California than what is done at Hollywood Studios)--and that doesn't even include the Frozen experience that we got to be a part of. We also enjoyed our time learning how to draw like a Disney animator (indeed, the whole Animation area in California Adventure was awesome).
Lastly, a word about where to stay. When Walt built Disneyland, he only had enough money to purchase around 300 acres (in comparison, the company bought over 46,000 acres in Florida). By the time money was rolling in from the park, others had snatched up near by parcels of land. Though Disney has been able to buy more land since, other hotels (many of them chains) and restaurants dominate the strip outside the park. There are three hotels owned by Disney, but we found them to be to expensive (at least for this trip). So, we stayed at the Candy Cane Inn which is on the same side of the street as the park and literally abuts California Adventure (and is just 2 long blocks to the park entrance).
So, would I recommend going to Disneyland? Yes (even though Walt Disney World will probably always remain my preferred park--and if I were planning a trip based solely around a Disney experience, I'd opt for Florida). While I wish that we had one more day (perhaps because this was our first trip there, or perhaps because we were there during the holidays), we left after three days feeling as though we'd gotten a full experience (even though we didn't ride every ride or see every show), and blessed with more family time and grateful to walk the streets that Walt laid out.
Showing posts with label Walt Disney World. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Walt Disney World. Show all posts
Friday, January 2, 2015
Sunday, July 6, 2014
"Set our hearts at liberty"
My friend and fellow historian, Thomas Kidd, wrote earlier this week about his "top five forgotten Founders," a timely and topical post to be sure, since the United States celebrated the 238th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4th. And though I was on vacation (and doing a little research for my next book project), I was thinking about writing about one of my favorite forgotten founders, Francis Hopkinson--signer of the Declaration from New Jersey, member of Christ Church Episcopal in Philadelphia, lawyer, writer, and first federal judge of what became the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
His story is an interesting one. His home was raided by British troops (but an officer, or so the story goes, refused to allow it to be burned to the ground because of Hopkinson's impressive library), he was an advocate of the Constitution, and though he died shortly after assuming the federal bench, his son Joseph Hopkinson was later appointed to the same position, and enjoyed a long tenure as a district court judge.
But, I changed my mind. Perhaps it was because our vacation had taken us to Walt Disney World (where there was little time and even less inclination, to write a blog post). It was not as though we lacked for patriotic stimulus, Disney has maybe the best fireworks displays for the Fourth of July (which tops their usual fireworks) you will ever see and hear.
It was very special to get to experience it with my family. But it was also fun to get to witness it along side with thousands of others, not just from the United States, but from around the world. And that got me thinking about the patriotic message that Disney was proclaiming and what it meant not just to me, but to all those other people--in particular for those who were not American citizens. What did they make of all our red, white, and blue patriotism?
I don't have an answer for that question, but I was pondering it a bit this morning while waiting for church to start. While flipping to the first hymn, I paused for a moment on Charles Wesley's "Love Divine, All Loves Excelling," where I came upon the line that offered up the title for this post: "set our hearts at liberty." And that got me thinking about what those Founding Fathers (whether forgotten or not) meant by "liberty." It does not have the same meaning as "equality" (the great buzz word of both modern America and the French Revolution) not even akin to "equality under the law" since they knew laws might change. It does not have the same meaning as "freedom,"with notions of doing whatever one wants. No, I think when the Founders spoke of liberty I think more often than not they meant it was the ability (indeed the responsibility) to do what was right. It came with a set of implied moral precepts that today we either to often take for granted or don't even recognize.
It is true, of course, that Americans don't always live up to the ideals enshrined in the Declaration of Independence that Hopkinson signed. It is good to recall them, and not just on July 4th. We can only hope that God will continue and continually "set our hearts at liberty," while also offering up the prayer included in Katharine Lee Bates hymn "America the Beautiful," may "God mend thine every flaw."
Thursday, November 28, 2013
Revisiting Christmas at Disney (Part 1)
My wife loves Christmas. Each year it seems, our celebrations get bigger, and our traditions grow. And I love every minute of it right along side her, and the joy it brings us to be with family and friends, and the memories we are making with our children. So, it was little surprise that, have really enjoyed coming to the Magic Kingdom in January, we decided that we would kick off the 2013 Holiday Season at Walt Disney World as well.
As such, we found ourselves partaking, once again, and this time truly soaking in (because we knew better what to expect) the Osborne Family's light display at Disney's Hollywood Studios. As readers of this blog know, this experience back in January prompted a blog post as well (indeed, to date, it is the most visited post I've made as part of this blog).
The experience, to borrow a word so often heard at Disney, is magical. The lights, the music, the "snow" (soap foam). It is nearly perfect. I'll not rehash the arguments I made in that earlier post here. Rather I'll simply say that it is very special, and a very nice way to start thinking about Christmas during this holiday season.
This trip has gotten me thinking about Disney in other respects as well on the academic front. And that is to what degree Walt Disney (and the Company that continues to bear his name) were actively involved in not just story telling, but in creating a working, modern, mythology -- both for Americans and one might argue Western Civilization. In some respects, that involves a standardization of stories (akin to what the Brothers Grimm once did). In others, it might be crafting an agenda of sorts (what do the stories, as Disney related them, say about children or parents, men and women, etc). How has globalization (as well as say consumerism changed/altered that vision)? What role should historic accuracy play in telling these stories? For me, thinking about those lights again, I'm also left asking what the role of faith/religion/Christianity is in all that story telling as well.
These are all good questions I think. But for now, still warmed by the memories, I'll look once again at those lights and be thankful for the family that first put them up and the company that keeps on doing it.
Saturday, October 5, 2013
Spectacle of Toleration
Back in January, when I was in the midst of both enjoying and having an epiphany about Disney World and religion (which remains the most popular post on this blog), I was standing in line at the Barnstormer with my children checking my email when I came upon a call for panelists for a conference to be held in Rhode Island. The conference was dedicated to the notion of religious toleration in American History, with a focus on Rhode Island's colonial charter. As I've always enjoyed going to Rhode Island, including when I got to speak in Newport back in 2006, I jumped at the chance to make a return to the Ocean State.
I agreed to be a commentator for a panel that was built around how the notion of toleration had played out in the early and mid-twentieth century. The papers covered topics ranging from the granting of peyote usage in religious ceremonies by Native Americans starting during the New Deal, to the legal struggles of Jehovah's Witness around World War II (the famed Gobitis case), the mainstreaming of Mormons, and (in light of my own work on the Mainline) the attempt by the National Council of Churches to silence conservative religious voices on the radio by using the FCC. I was really looking forward to being a part of the Spectacle of Toleration conference, but alas, for a variety of reasons, I ended up not being able to go. Thankfully, my panel was both gracious (allowing me to email in my commentary for today's event) and tolerant of my absence. The papers I read, each in their own way, open the door for further research. Not just on their own, particular topic, but also the affect that World War II had the course of American Religious History.
Though I wasn't able to attend, and have been quite busy on my own both personally and professionally in the past few weeks, I've also been doing some very interesting reading about topics I've addressed on this blog before, namely on the issue of the Millennials. There is this intriguing piece on how the Religious Left (or maybe, liberal evangelicals to be more precise) are attempting to reach out to Millennials. Whether or not they are successful, or whether or not some of them are genuine in their attempt (if I'm reading the author of the article correctly, she believes their chief goal is simply to shore up political support for liberal politics), like most things with the Millennials, we'll have to see. But that is the future (beyond the speculation), in an attempt to understand how we got to the point where we are talking about Millennials and the Church at all by far the best article I have read on the subject is this one.
I really can't say enough good things about Matt Marino's post. Not only do I think it hits on something that needs to be discussed, but it is one of the most obvious things that might be an answer to the question about Millennials and the Church to begin with....and thus one of those things that might easily be over looked. The history of Sunday School in the United States is a long one, with several twists and turns, and there is also no doubt that there is much to recommend it even today. As someone who went through Sunday School, whose parents have taught/helped in Sunday School, and who has himself taught Sunday School classes, I have lots of positive memories and am sure that it helped shape my faith. And yet, at the exact same time, Marino's point that American churches and their Sunday Schools, at times, have put "programing" ahead of the Gospel and that children can grow up in a church without ever spending much time participating in the life of the church, really hits home. For the Mainline, who made an effort to raise Christians rather than seek to save/convert people (even little ones) to Christianity, Marino's post seems to make even more sense. And if reading his post doesn't also make you wonder whether or not it would be better to have your kids with you in the sanctuary with you tomorrow rather than in a Sunday School classroom, then I'd urge you to read it again!
I agreed to be a commentator for a panel that was built around how the notion of toleration had played out in the early and mid-twentieth century. The papers covered topics ranging from the granting of peyote usage in religious ceremonies by Native Americans starting during the New Deal, to the legal struggles of Jehovah's Witness around World War II (the famed Gobitis case), the mainstreaming of Mormons, and (in light of my own work on the Mainline) the attempt by the National Council of Churches to silence conservative religious voices on the radio by using the FCC. I was really looking forward to being a part of the Spectacle of Toleration conference, but alas, for a variety of reasons, I ended up not being able to go. Thankfully, my panel was both gracious (allowing me to email in my commentary for today's event) and tolerant of my absence. The papers I read, each in their own way, open the door for further research. Not just on their own, particular topic, but also the affect that World War II had the course of American Religious History.
Though I wasn't able to attend, and have been quite busy on my own both personally and professionally in the past few weeks, I've also been doing some very interesting reading about topics I've addressed on this blog before, namely on the issue of the Millennials. There is this intriguing piece on how the Religious Left (or maybe, liberal evangelicals to be more precise) are attempting to reach out to Millennials. Whether or not they are successful, or whether or not some of them are genuine in their attempt (if I'm reading the author of the article correctly, she believes their chief goal is simply to shore up political support for liberal politics), like most things with the Millennials, we'll have to see. But that is the future (beyond the speculation), in an attempt to understand how we got to the point where we are talking about Millennials and the Church at all by far the best article I have read on the subject is this one.
I really can't say enough good things about Matt Marino's post. Not only do I think it hits on something that needs to be discussed, but it is one of the most obvious things that might be an answer to the question about Millennials and the Church to begin with....and thus one of those things that might easily be over looked. The history of Sunday School in the United States is a long one, with several twists and turns, and there is also no doubt that there is much to recommend it even today. As someone who went through Sunday School, whose parents have taught/helped in Sunday School, and who has himself taught Sunday School classes, I have lots of positive memories and am sure that it helped shape my faith. And yet, at the exact same time, Marino's point that American churches and their Sunday Schools, at times, have put "programing" ahead of the Gospel and that children can grow up in a church without ever spending much time participating in the life of the church, really hits home. For the Mainline, who made an effort to raise Christians rather than seek to save/convert people (even little ones) to Christianity, Marino's post seems to make even more sense. And if reading his post doesn't also make you wonder whether or not it would be better to have your kids with you in the sanctuary with you tomorrow rather than in a Sunday School classroom, then I'd urge you to read it again!
Saturday, January 5, 2013
Christmas at Disney World
This year for Christmas, my wife and I gave our kids the gift of a nearly week long trip to Walt Disney World in Florida. Considering the turn the weather took the day after Christmas at home in Indiana, and how nice it turned out to be in Florida, it also ended up being a gift to us as well!
Now, for those of you who have read this blog before, you know this isn't a travel blog. This is supposed to be about my book about Mainline Christianity -- stick with me, and I'll get there, I promise. For those of you who are stumbling upon this blog because you are looking for a review of the new Fantasy Land, let me just say now it is awesome, and you should start your day with Belle!
Now, how did I come to post about Disney World on this book blog? I surely didn't intend to do so, but one of the nice things about a vacation that includes waiting in line (unless you can Fast Pass -- which you should) is that you get some time to think. And for me, this post started when we visited EPCOT and my son, while we were in Norway said "let's go into that church." For those of you who are rusty on your EPCOT Norwegian lay of the land, the pavilion includes a stave church building (which houses an exhibit on the Vikings). My son's request got me thinking about where God was at Disney World (which very could, as I thought some more about it, be a whole article in and of itself). But this is not that article, rather, this is about Disney World at Christmas time, and what American Mainline Christianity (whether of the old or new variety) might learn from the House of Mouse.
Before anyone assumes this is going to be some new angle on the whole "church as business model" let me lay those hopes/fears aside for you. It is not (remember, this is not that article). While I think there are some valid arguments/examples one could make (as well as a warnings, including that "one size does not fit all") along those lines, this post is about Disney at Christmastime. You see, one of the main reasons my wife and I had decided to do this trip (besides that we have a wonderful time here in Florida, along with the aforementioned weather issue) was that we wanted to see what Disney did for Christmas. Not for any academic reasons (this post aside) but just to see it. We knew we weren't going to make the journey AT Christmas, but after a quick check, discovered that the parks stayed decorated into the New Year. And that sealed the deal!
What Disney does to their parks at Christmas is pretty special. The lights are awesome. The displays are cute. The merchandise is everywhere. One could visit Disney World at Christmas and see nothing but commercialization and consumerism and even secularization run amok. Indeed, a trip here at Christmastime might fire some members of American Mainline Christianity into bemoaning what the Magic Kingdom has done or at least is a symptom of to culture, including Christian culture, for all those reasons. Before you know it, we'd see calls for boycotts, petitions asking Disney to support "traditional values," and maybe even op-eds about Disney's image as "family friendly" while making money off of movie divisions that "glorify violence" or some such. If that seems far fetched, it shouldn't -- all those things have happened in the last 10 to 15 years (usually from some corner of the Religious Right, or from evangelical circles, and all with precious little to show for it).
But before that happens here, let me ask you, dear reader, to step back -- either from launching such a drive or from shaking your head at those who would -- and join me for a second at Disney's Hollywood Studios. Click on that highlighted hyperlink and behold the Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights. You'll be beholding for awhile, as there are some 5 million lights involved. And let me tell you what I saw, and heard, just the other night, when I beheld them for the first time: the very spirit of Christmas.
We were directed by the park staff (those "cast members" in Disney speak) down and around the byways of park's streets to begin in front of a Nativity light display. We'd seen it earlier in the day of course, and I'd thought it odd that it seemed tucked away near the back of the (then unlit) display area. But now I understood why. You start there, away from the bulk of the display, so that those lights stand out more. They draw you in. Soon enough, you are pulled away (if only by the strength of the crowd) to other displays. Some are religious in nature (the wise men, angels, peace on earth) some are not. But even when you aren't focused visually on the Nativity, you are never far from it, thanks to the music that is playing -- sounds of the season, some secular, some holy, but all Christmas.
And that trip through the lights got me thinking. I have heard Christmas music virtually everyday since late November. At Disney World it was playing still. "Light" seemed to be the buzzword this year at the Advent and Christmas services I either attended or watched. Here were 5 million lights in just one section of one Disney park. The people I had attended services with -- friends, family, neighbors -- had all likely heard those messages before. Here at Disney World, I was hearing (and singing) some of the same hymns, "seeing" the same message, with thousands of people I didn't know, literally from every corner of the globe (and not just at EPCOT -- we saw groups from various Central and South American nations, and encountered visitors from across Europe, as well as from Asia and Australia, amongst other places). Can any American denomination, inside or outside, the Mainline say their message (while no doubt more deeply seeded with theology and doctrine) was heard by so many? Did any have such an "evangelizing moment" to reach out to those outside of the Christian faith and tradition (those whom many American evangelicals would have once called "the lost," or "unreached") with the Good News of Christ's birth?
Now, I'm not saying that Disney World was attempting to spread the Christmas message of the Church in an evangelizing way. If it gets cold and snowy enough in Indiana later this winter, you might even get me to say (as my favorite of Snow White's dwarfs, Grumpy, might do) that even if they were, it wouldn't make up for all the commercialization and secular message that comes with it. But that doesn't mean that there isn't a lesson to be had in all of this about the Mainline of American Christianity either. If a secular corporation can do this, (or this) what more can (and should) the Church be doing? As one of my favorite sermons from this past Advent season pointed out, Christmas started with Christianity and the Church -- and Christians should not be afraid to say so! Perhaps scholars need to look a bit more deeply into issues of culture (something that gets a few pages in the Mainline book, but no doubt needs more attention). Maybe there is more for the church planners (as well as those who study such movements) to learn about/from the whole "corporation model" of Church growth. With less than a year until the start of the next Advent and Christmas season, there is still time to think about such things before they are upon us again. And there is also time to reflect that sometimes such epiphanies can come to us at the most unexpected times and places -- not unlike that very first Christmas itself.
Now, for those of you who have read this blog before, you know this isn't a travel blog. This is supposed to be about my book about Mainline Christianity -- stick with me, and I'll get there, I promise. For those of you who are stumbling upon this blog because you are looking for a review of the new Fantasy Land, let me just say now it is awesome, and you should start your day with Belle!
Now, how did I come to post about Disney World on this book blog? I surely didn't intend to do so, but one of the nice things about a vacation that includes waiting in line (unless you can Fast Pass -- which you should) is that you get some time to think. And for me, this post started when we visited EPCOT and my son, while we were in Norway said "let's go into that church." For those of you who are rusty on your EPCOT Norwegian lay of the land, the pavilion includes a stave church building (which houses an exhibit on the Vikings). My son's request got me thinking about where God was at Disney World (which very could, as I thought some more about it, be a whole article in and of itself). But this is not that article, rather, this is about Disney World at Christmas time, and what American Mainline Christianity (whether of the old or new variety) might learn from the House of Mouse.
Before anyone assumes this is going to be some new angle on the whole "church as business model" let me lay those hopes/fears aside for you. It is not (remember, this is not that article). While I think there are some valid arguments/examples one could make (as well as a warnings, including that "one size does not fit all") along those lines, this post is about Disney at Christmastime. You see, one of the main reasons my wife and I had decided to do this trip (besides that we have a wonderful time here in Florida, along with the aforementioned weather issue) was that we wanted to see what Disney did for Christmas. Not for any academic reasons (this post aside) but just to see it. We knew we weren't going to make the journey AT Christmas, but after a quick check, discovered that the parks stayed decorated into the New Year. And that sealed the deal!
What Disney does to their parks at Christmas is pretty special. The lights are awesome. The displays are cute. The merchandise is everywhere. One could visit Disney World at Christmas and see nothing but commercialization and consumerism and even secularization run amok. Indeed, a trip here at Christmastime might fire some members of American Mainline Christianity into bemoaning what the Magic Kingdom has done or at least is a symptom of to culture, including Christian culture, for all those reasons. Before you know it, we'd see calls for boycotts, petitions asking Disney to support "traditional values," and maybe even op-eds about Disney's image as "family friendly" while making money off of movie divisions that "glorify violence" or some such. If that seems far fetched, it shouldn't -- all those things have happened in the last 10 to 15 years (usually from some corner of the Religious Right, or from evangelical circles, and all with precious little to show for it).
But before that happens here, let me ask you, dear reader, to step back -- either from launching such a drive or from shaking your head at those who would -- and join me for a second at Disney's Hollywood Studios. Click on that highlighted hyperlink and behold the Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights. You'll be beholding for awhile, as there are some 5 million lights involved. And let me tell you what I saw, and heard, just the other night, when I beheld them for the first time: the very spirit of Christmas.
We were directed by the park staff (those "cast members" in Disney speak) down and around the byways of park's streets to begin in front of a Nativity light display. We'd seen it earlier in the day of course, and I'd thought it odd that it seemed tucked away near the back of the (then unlit) display area. But now I understood why. You start there, away from the bulk of the display, so that those lights stand out more. They draw you in. Soon enough, you are pulled away (if only by the strength of the crowd) to other displays. Some are religious in nature (the wise men, angels, peace on earth) some are not. But even when you aren't focused visually on the Nativity, you are never far from it, thanks to the music that is playing -- sounds of the season, some secular, some holy, but all Christmas.
And that trip through the lights got me thinking. I have heard Christmas music virtually everyday since late November. At Disney World it was playing still. "Light" seemed to be the buzzword this year at the Advent and Christmas services I either attended or watched. Here were 5 million lights in just one section of one Disney park. The people I had attended services with -- friends, family, neighbors -- had all likely heard those messages before. Here at Disney World, I was hearing (and singing) some of the same hymns, "seeing" the same message, with thousands of people I didn't know, literally from every corner of the globe (and not just at EPCOT -- we saw groups from various Central and South American nations, and encountered visitors from across Europe, as well as from Asia and Australia, amongst other places). Can any American denomination, inside or outside, the Mainline say their message (while no doubt more deeply seeded with theology and doctrine) was heard by so many? Did any have such an "evangelizing moment" to reach out to those outside of the Christian faith and tradition (those whom many American evangelicals would have once called "the lost," or "unreached") with the Good News of Christ's birth?
Now, I'm not saying that Disney World was attempting to spread the Christmas message of the Church in an evangelizing way. If it gets cold and snowy enough in Indiana later this winter, you might even get me to say (as my favorite of Snow White's dwarfs, Grumpy, might do) that even if they were, it wouldn't make up for all the commercialization and secular message that comes with it. But that doesn't mean that there isn't a lesson to be had in all of this about the Mainline of American Christianity either. If a secular corporation can do this, (or this) what more can (and should) the Church be doing? As one of my favorite sermons from this past Advent season pointed out, Christmas started with Christianity and the Church -- and Christians should not be afraid to say so! Perhaps scholars need to look a bit more deeply into issues of culture (something that gets a few pages in the Mainline book, but no doubt needs more attention). Maybe there is more for the church planners (as well as those who study such movements) to learn about/from the whole "corporation model" of Church growth. With less than a year until the start of the next Advent and Christmas season, there is still time to think about such things before they are upon us again. And there is also time to reflect that sometimes such epiphanies can come to us at the most unexpected times and places -- not unlike that very first Christmas itself.
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