Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah from all of us—and Quentin Schultze and Michele Sider

A Rare Convergence of Hanukkah and Christmas

HOW RARE IS IT?—Most years, Hanukkah “coverage” in our magazine comes well before our Christmas “coverage.” Because the Jewish lunar calendar drifts back and forth in comparison to our secular calendar, this year’s first night of Hanukkah at sundown on Christmas Day is exceedingly rare. In the past 100 years, this convergence has occurred only in 1959, 2005 and now in 2024. This year, in so many ways, our world is markedly different than it was a year ago—so we have devoted three weekly issues of our magazine to highlighting important, timely themes in both Christian and Jewish traditions.

Let’s start with how media expert Quentin Schultze draws 20 ‘life lessons’ from ‘A Christmas Story’

IF THAT IDEA SOUNDS ASTONISHING—20 lessons from a single 94-minute holiday movie—then you’ve got to read this half of our holiday-week Cover Story. Did you know that this little 1983 “sleeper” of a movie now ranks for many as the No. 1 Christmas Movie of all time? And did you know that the man behind that movie—author Jean Shepherd—had some serious wisdom he wanted to impart with all the nostalgic humor? Please enjoy this story and share it with friends on social media! (And yes, we have included the TV-schedule information about the Christmas Story movie marathons coming up this week.)

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Then, Artist Michelle Sider’s Special Hanukkah letter: ‘Let There Be Light This Holiday Season’

IN THIS MARVELOUS illustrated column, artist Michelle Sider writes about the many ways that her concern about our fragmented—and often dark—world has led her to a vocation of finding and illuminating sources of light. In addition to her “letter,” you can enjoy selections of her work. Please, read this and share it with friends on social media.

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Holiday Gift Giving—

 

Whatever your holiday—
we’ve got a great book for that!

OUR FRONT EDGE PUBLISHING MARKETING GURU SUSAN STITT is also an expert gift consultant! Anyone who has known Susan over the years, knows she’s got an instinct for perfect pairings of loved ones with just the right present to give for … well, for whatever holiday you’re celebrating at the end of this year. Please enjoy her Front Edge Publishing column this week, packed with lots of options grouped by general themes. Thanks, Susan, for this wonderful one-stop shopping list!

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Visit us at Bluesky

Editor David Crumm and marketing guru Susan Stitt already are a part of the relatively new Bluesky social media app—and so are an ever-growing number of our writers. We look forward to seeing what you can add to this new online hub to make it feel more like a welcoming community. So, please read this Front Edge Publishing column, which explains what we’re doing on Bluesky—and provides easy links for you to come join us.

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Faith & Film

Click on the movie poster to read Ed McNulty’s review of The Man who Invented Christmas.

Ed McNulty’s Favorite Christmas Films

ED McNULTY, for decades, published reviews, magazine articles and books exploring connections between faith and film.

Here are some of his recommended Christmas movies that you might have overlooked:

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Remembering Our Friend’s Prophetic Voice

ED McNULTY (1936-1924) was nationally known as a pioneer in film criticism with his prophetic style of “Faith and Film” reviews. To read more about his life—we know you will enjoy this obituary and remembrance of his remarkable life.

Much like Roger Ebert’s wife Chaz and their friends have continued to maintain his online database of film reviews—ReadTheSpirit.com magazine has decided to maintain Ed’s substantial body of work, including these 100s of his faith-and film reviews. In today’s world of streaming, viewers may choose to enjoy these films anytime. In addition, we will continue to highlight faith-and-film themes that Ed enjoyed.

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