The Aesthetic of Christmas | National Catholic Reporter

The Aesthetic of Christmas | National Catholic Reporter by MSW.  MGB: Merry Christmas to all.  The kitch and sentimentality are part of it, but mostly because they recall for some of us, especially cradle Catholics, the continuity with the past (even if some parts of the commemoration are recent).  My father and sister's love for Adeste Fidelis is the Latin brings a tug to my heart every year, and a pang of disappointment if it is sung in English.  What is also moving is how the Incarnation dovetails with the story of the empty tomb, which would have no meaning for us if Christ were not one of us.  This is why we kneel tomorrow when the Incarnation is proclaimed in the Creed and not at the mention of the Resurrection.  Both events must be proclaimed as part of the New Evangelization to be more than an exercise in orthodoxy, or else my memories of my father are quite sad and meaningless.