In his latest On the Square column , Russell E. Saltzman says we should call it Christ’s Mass and let Best Buy keep the holiday:
Who cares, first, if Best Buy or Gap “keeps” Christmas as a feature of their annual sales hustle? Hearing What Child is This? dispensed from overhead Muzak speakers as shoppers sort through Black Friday discards isn’t exactly the proclamatory moment St. Luke may have had in mind when he wrote his gospel.
Besides, the Christian proclamation of Christmas doesn’t belong to Gap, but to the Church of Christ. The culture may yet be residually Christian in some respects, but that hardly matters when it’s time to go shopping.
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
Our Most Popular Articles of 2025
It’s been a big year for First Things. Our website was completely redesigned, and stories like the…
Our Year in Film & Television—2025
First Things editors and writers share the most memorable films and TV shows they watched this year.…
Religious Freedom Is the Soul of American Security
In the quiet sanctuary of West Point’s Old Cadet Chapel, a striking mural crowns the apse above…
