A Christian Christmas: Keeping Christ in Yuletide

Since creation the birth of Christ has been the most momentous event in human history, and has been commemorated around the world in various ways. In its early stages the observance was ap-propriately focused on the birth of Christ, but by the Middle Ages much of the commemoration had taken on a more secular and cultural nature, unrelated to the actual meaning of the original Bib-lical event, deteriorating into merrymaking of various kinds, drunkenous, debauchery, and general-ly raucous behavior. By the early American era the annual event had gradually evolved into a more tranquil pattern while still maintaining much activity of a distinctly cultural quality. In modern times the Yuletide season has been, and still is, the occasion for a variety of activity, much of which calls no attention to the gift of God to redeem the world, consequently ignoring the Biblical account of the arrival of the savior of mankind. The author of A Christian Christmas presents the need to focus the observance on the event it rep-resents and its meaning. It is in fact a traditional remembrance that deserves to be maintained as a distinctly Christian experience. A Christian Christmas presents a collection of articles focused on the coming of Christ the author has shared over the years with his own family for the purpose of giving Christmas a markedly Christian emphasis amidst all the other traditional activities. It stresses the need to recover the actual meaning of the celebration during the Yuletide season, and encourages others to have a ＂home-style＂ celebration of the birth of Christ. Maynard Miller holds degrees from Asbury College, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and the University of Kentucky. First serving as a Methodist pastor, he later become Campus Director of the Methodist Home for Children of Kentucky. By appointment of the Methodist Church to specialized ministry he went into the mental health field as therapist, administrator and college teacher. A frequent speaker and writer, he has been a leader in national and international service projects. His previous books are The Face in the Mirror, The Book and the Right and At My Father’s Knee. Now retired, he lives in Versailles, Kentucky.