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The Christmas Virtues: A Treasury of Conservative Tales for the Holidays Hardcover – November 23, 2015

by Jonathan V. Last (Editor), Rob Long (Contributor), P. J. O'Rourke (Contributor),

4.3 23 ratings

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From the all-star cast that brought you The Seven Deadly Virtues and The Dadly Virtues comes the ultimate Christmas survival guide: The Christmas Virtues.

The Christmas season is a minefield of terrors: The family get-togethers with weird uncles, the sloppy office parties, the annoying 10-page Look-at-Us holiday letters—and we haven’t even mentioned the Black Friday mobs and that wretched Alvin and the Chipmunks song that plays every 90 minutes on Pandora, whether you like it or not. Rum-pah-pah-pum.

And don’t forget the PC police lurking around every corner looking to beat the last bits of joy and comradery out of our society. Merry Christmas? Really?

But it doesn’t have to be this way. 'Tis the season to recapture the wonder of Christmas, in our hearts and in our homes and even out in the public square. The Christmas Virtues is a humorous companion for, and guide to, navigating the trials and tribulations of the holiday season. It’s a reminder of how we can embrace the joy, hope, and love of Christmas—of the real Christmas.

And a call for us to stand up for Christmas because America needs it now, more than ever.

So sit back and enjoy the following tales by your favorite authors:

Rob Long’s "The Christmas Spirit: In Defense of Ebenezer Scrooge.”
P. J. O’Rourke’s “The Commercialization of Christmas: God Moves (The Merchandise) in a Mysterious Way.”
Andrew Ferguson’s “Jingle Bell Rock: Taking the Christ Out of Christmas Songs”
Matt Labash’s “Home for the Holidays: The Trials and Tribulations of Family.”
Stephen F. Hayes’ "here Comes Santa Claus: The Wonder of Christmas Morning."
Toby Young’s “The ghosts of Christmas: Holidays Past and Present”
Jonah Goldberg’s “The War on Christmas: It’s Real, and It’s Spectacular.”
Christopher Buckley’s “Saint Joseph: The Forgotten ‘Father Christmas.’”
Kirsten Powers’ “The first Noel: Christmas with Jesus.”
James Lileks' "Boxing Day and the Christmas Hangover."
And More

Print length

224 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Templeton Press
Publication date

November 23, 2015
Dimensions

5.5 x 0.7 x 8.5 inches
ISBN-10

1599475057
ISBN-13

978-1599475059
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Editorial Reviews

Review

Jonathan Last has provided an entertaining break to the holiday season in The Christmas Virtues: A Treasury of Conservative Tales for the Holidays… . The virtues part of The Christmas Virtues is often subtle, but through the stories and the prose, the reader can find a reminder of what really matters during the holiday season and what kinds of things we should just look past. Fighting the creeping commercialization and secularization of Christmas is the underlying theme of all of the essays, along with the need to come back to the basics of love, charity and the message of the Prince of Peace. We could all do a little better to not take ourselves so seriously during the holidays and focus more on the important parts.” —Wayne Parker, About Parenting

“Here’s the thing. Not everything about the holiday season is wonderful and filled with cheer. We all know that. So, why sugarcoat it all? This all-star cast of writers got together, and rather than a Chicken Soup for the Soul type of book, has put together a compilation that truly hits the nail on the head about the holiday season.”

“P.J. O’Rourke talks about the commercialization of Christmas, Joe Quennan shares his take on the artful tradition of Christmas cards. Matt Labash makes light of the antics of holiday family gatherings. But, don’t expect a bunch of funny, lighthearted stories that will keep you laughing, as some are serious and other will share a perspective you probably have never looked at Christmas from.”

“I highly, highly recommend! 5 stars!”—Mommy Rantings Blog

“This book is sure to be loved by anyone who embodies the season of Christmas – you undoubtedly know a few of these people. These friends and family members can be hard to gift-shop for, but consider this book your solution. Not only will you be giving them a humorous, enjoyable read, but you will be giving them memories and stories to keep them warm for many Christmas seasons to come.” —Jacqueline Isaacs, Conservative Book Club

About the Author

Jonathan V. Last is a senior writer at the Weekly Standard, a Washington-based political magazine, author of What to Expect When No One’s Expecting: America’s Coming Demographic Disaster (Encounter Books, 2013) and editor of The Seven Deadly Virtues, and The Dadly Virtues (Templeton Press, 2014, 2015). His writings have been featured in the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, the Philadelphia Inquirer, the New York Post, the Claremont Review of Books, First Things, and elsewhere.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

The Christmas Virtues

A Treasury of Conservative Tales for the Holidays

By Jonathan V. Last

Templeton Foundation Press

Copyright © 2015 Templeton Press
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-59947-505-9

Acknowledgments,
Introduction,
The Miracle of Christmas Jonathan V. Last,
Chapter 1: The Christmas Spirit In Defense of Ebenezer Scrooge Rob Long,
Chapter 2: The Commercialization of Christmas God Moves (the Merchandise) in a Mysterious Way P. J. O'Rourke,
Chapter 3: Season's Greetings! Ten Simple Rules for Sending Christmas Cards Joe Queenan,
Chapter 4: Jingle Bell Rock Taking the Christ Out of Christmas Songs Andrew Ferguson,
Chapter 5: Oh, Tannenbaum A Tradition Unlike Any Other Christopher Caldwell,
Chapter 6: The Nativity Stories The Best (and Worst) Christmas Movies Ever Sonny Bunch,
Chapter 7: Home for the Holidays The Trials and Tribulations of Family Matt Labash,
Chapter 8: Saint Nicholas: Friend or Foe? A Document Dump from Santa's Secret Email Server David "Iowahawk" Burge,
Chapter 9: All Good Gifts Tickle Me Elmo and the Madness of Christmas Toys Heather Wilhelm,
Chapter 10: Here Comes Santa Claus The Wonder of Christmas Morning Stephen F. Hayes,
Chapter 11: The Ghosts of Christmas Holidays Past and Present Toby Young,
Chapter 12: The War on Christmas It's Real, and It's Spectacular Jonah Goldberg,
Chapter 13: Jews Who Love Christmas We All Love Christmas Magic Larry Miller,
Chapter 14: I'm Dreaming of a Jewish Christmas Celebrating a Day You Don't Really Share Joseph Epstein,
Chapter 15: The Greatest of These Is Hope The Impossible Promises of Christmas Michael Graham,
Chapter 16: Saint Joseph The Forgotten "Father Christmas" Christopher Buckley,
Chapter 17: Mary, Mother of All The Real Miracles of the Virgin Birth Aren't What You Think Mollie Hemingway,
Chapter 18: The First Noel Christmas with Jesus Kirsten Powers,
Chapter 19: The Day After The Illusion of Returning to Normal James Lileks,
About the Contributors,

CHAPTER 1

The Christmas Spirit

In Defense of Ebenezer Scrooge Rob Long

There are lots of different editions of the book. Some of them are large and ornately illustrated, with woodcuts and curlicue letters; some of them pocket-sized and printed on cheap paper with smudgy ink. Either way, by the middle of page one or the top of page two of Charles Dickens' misunderstood paean to the Christmas season, you've got the basic gist.

And the point of A Christmas Carol is this: Most people are irritating and selfish, especially around Christmastime. They march around in gaudy cheerfulness, braying good wishes to everyone within earshot, repeating the tiresome pieties of the season — Happy Holidays! — and pester friends and relations and employers for all sorts of favors and boons and cash money gifts, which, when firmly refused on the principle — and this is important, so please pay attention to it — that money does not grow on trees and that hey, some of us around here work for a living, they recoil in horror as if somehow the poor, hardworking, petitioned, and beleaguered employer is out of step with the sentiment of the moment. As if it's the grasping, gimme-gimme outstretched hand of the petitioner that is somehow the true embodiment of the Christmastide.

I am aware, just so you know, that my personal interpretation of the opening pages of A Christmas Carol isn't widely shared. But that doesn't make it wrong.

Let me put

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Templeton Press; First Edition, First Edition, First Edition, 1 (November 23, 2015)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 224 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1599475057
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1599475059
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 15 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 0.7 x 8.5 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #3,508,309 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #587 in Holidays (Books)
- #3,777 in Christmas (Books)
- #5,298 in Humor Essays (Books)

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4.3 23 ratings

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Jonathan V. Last

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Jonathan V. Last is a senior writer at The Weekly Standard, a Washington-based political magazine. His writings have been featured in the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post, the Philadelphia Inquirer, the New York Post, the Claremont Review of Books, First Things, The Week, Salon, Slate, TV Guide, and elsewhere.

He is a regular commentator on both television and radio and has appeared on ABC, CNN, Fox News Channel, PBS, NPR, CNBC, Sky News, and the BBC.

He blogs at JonathanLast.com and tweets, reluctantly, @JVLast.

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AvidReader50

Perhaps not politically correct, but definitely a book to smile about!

Reviewed in the United States on December 1, 2015

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You will find something that resonates with just about everyone in this book. The Introduction by Jonathan V. Last is heartwarming, engaging and all so wonderfully introduces the characters that contributed to this collection. Rob Longs essay on Scrooge (chapter 1) is quite engaging while P. J. O'Rourke's essay on the commercialization of Christmas had me laughing throughout. If you are a stickler about Christmas cards then you will enjoy Joe Quennan's take on this long standing tradition. Matt Labash portrays the antics of a typical family gathering in his essay entitled "Home for the Holidays." Needless to say, his visualizations were great. If you ant to know what really goes on at the North Pole, by all means you must read David Burge's essay (or should I say e-mail chain) on Santa Claus. Not to be left out, there are contributions from a variety of Jewish writers. Larry Miller provides a great essay about Jews that love Christmas and Jonah Goldberg provides us with more than one chuckle in regards to the war on Christmas. Not all are funny. Some tug on your heart strings or provide you with a perspective that you may have never experienced. Or maybe you did and just needed someone to put your feelings into words. In my opinion the essay provided by Kirsten Powers was the crown jewel of the book. Although not funny like many of the other essays, it was deep, heartfelt, and totally worth the time it took to read her eloquent contribution. Thank you for the reading experience!

12 people found this helpful

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S.J.

Perfect holiday book from start to finish.

Reviewed in the United States on December 17, 2015

Verified Purchase

I loved every moment of this book. The essays are by turns laugh-out-loud comical and heart wrenching. Each essay focuses on a Christmas tradition (music, movies, extended family, picking out the tree, morning rituals with children) and all of them are windows into the lives and histories of some extraordinarily talented writers. It builds to a handful of more serious, reflective, and soul-stirring essays about the inner meaning of Christmas. I'd recommend it for anyone hoping to spend some time reflecting during Advent — and I think it also makes the perfect "hostess gift."

2 people found this helpful

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Frank P.

I loved this book

Reviewed in the United States on March 9, 2016

Verified Purchase

This book is a great read, I did not want it to end, and wish it was a little bit longer. I was born in Italy and came to America in 1967, Christmas although known was not a big deal we celebrated "La Befana" on January 6th. These short stories though brought back a lot of memories, both good and bad but mostly good. Buy this book and enjoy the true meaning of Christmas.

2 people found this helpful

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