G.K. Chesterton’s Damnable Christmast Errors

ILBERT Keith Chesterton seems to be the ideal Christmas icon. He’s jolly. He’s plump. But in his 1926 Christmas essay, all he wants to talk about are damnable Christmas errors.

This morning I published an article with Christianity Today called “C.S. Lewis Was a Grinch.” I guess I’m just taking down all the nostalgic holiday sentiments we might associate with British apologists from the twentieth century. Bah humbug!

In his essay “Some Damnable Errors Abut Christmas,” Chesterton takes aims at three bad ideas often connected to Christmas. First, Chesterton says we misunderstand love. Second, he says we don’t really get joy. Finally, he says we are all wrong with our notion that Christmas should be observed only once a year. G.K.C. writes:

“I look for the time when shall wish one another a Merry Christmas every morning; when roast turkey and plum-pudding shall be the staple of our daily dinner, and the holly shall never be taken down from the walls, and every will always be kissing everyone else under the mistletoe . . . I shall return to the subject of Christmas next week.”

So, Merry Christmas. It is in the Incarnation that we can understand divine love. This gives us real reason for celebration. And it’s not something we should limit to one day a year. The baby born in Bethlehem changes everything! Let’s rejoice. Every. Single. Day.