Christmas fun

Here’s my annual round up of all the Christmas oddities this year.

First off, a church ad for Advent (left) shows Jesus in the womb [1].

Washington pastry chef Charles Froke, a Catholic, hopes that his recreation of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception “earns me some brownie points in heaven.” (Catholic News Service) [2]

We have a few remakes of the famous Bing Crosby/David Bowie “The Little Drummer Boy” duet. One is serious: The Priests [3], a “Irish trio of clerical classical singers,” as CNS calls them [4], and Shawn MacGowan, “widely known for his alcoholic binges both on and off stage.” And the other is not so serious, but a more literal remake: Will Farrell and John C. Reilly [5].

The Nativity 2.0

HT to America [6] and The Deacon’s Bench [7] for that video. And from our archives, here are some of my favorite Nativity sets [8].

We have an essay about a Spanish tradition of Nativity sets [9] with tons of extra characters. Following his trip to Spain, defecating Pope Benedict XVI caganers [10] (an honor, not an insult) are proving to be popular this year. In Italy, Wikileaks founder Assange [11] is a popular figure.

A few favorite posts from previous years:

The Festivus pole [12]

Christmas myth debunked [13] (The 12 Days of Christmas)

A very Bright Christmas [14] (Cool Christmas light display videos)

O, Christmas Tree! [15]

And finally, after last year’s Christmas card controversy [16], we decided to stick with a simple video. If only we had invited Loyola’s choir [17] to help us out.