Ten story ideas for the holidays

Posted on November 21st, 2005

Mary of Nazareth

Who had more reason to be mystified at the original Christmas than Mary? And who knew more about Jesus than his mother? But many mysteries remain about her. The interest in early Christianity ignited by Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code has focused attention on Mary (as well as Mary Magdalene). Protestants, long distanced from Catholics by the devotion to "the BVM," are taking another look. And this summer is the 25th anniversary of the first reports of her apparition at Medjugorje in Bosnia-Herzegovina. All are good reasons to ponder Mary this holiday season.
• Jon M. Sweeney, who lives in Vermont, is the author of a complete introduction to Mary, Strange Heaven: A Protestant Experience of the Virgin Mary, forthcoming in fall 2006 from Paraclete Press. He includes Mary in the Old and New Testaments, in various mystical texts including the Qur’an and the texts that inspired Mel Gibson’s Passion of the Christ screenplay, and apparitions and visions, the rosary, feast days and issues of difficult dogma for Protestants, including the Immaculate Conception. Contact Carol Showalter, 508-255-4685 ext. 356, cshowalter@paracletepress.com.
• Wayne Weible of Jacksonville, Fla., is the author of Medjugorje: The Message, about visions of the Virgin Mary that began being reported in the summer of 1981 in Medjugorje, a village in Bosnia-Herzegovina. For the 25th anniversary, Paraclete Press is publishing a special hardcover edition of the book, which has sold almost a half million copies in paperback. Contact 904-737-0721, waweible@aol.com, or Carol Showalter, 508-255-4685 ext. 356, cshowalter@paracletepress.com.
• Author and historical detective Graham Phillips, who lives in the Midlands of England, explores what happened to Mary after the crucifixion in The Virgin Mary Conspiracy: The True Father of Christ and the Tomb of the Virgin (Inner Traditions, 2005). During his research, Phillips says, he discovered a controversial theory that Jesus was the son of Antipater, the son of Herod, and so was the true heir to Herod’s throne. Contact grahamphillips123@hotmail.com.
• Lee Strobel, who lives in Southern California, researches the Christmas story in The Case for Christmas: A Journalist Investigates the Identity of the Child in the Manger (Zondervan, 2005). Contact Vicki Cessna, 616-698-3214, Vicki.cessna@zondervan.com.
• See the March 21, 2005, Time magazine cover story, "Hail, Mary," about the growing popularity of the mother of Jesus among Protestants.
• Read a Dec. 17, 2004, Religion & Ethics Newsweekly cover story, "A Protestant Mary."
• See information from a 2003 BBC program on Mary.
• For more resources about Mary, see a January 2005 ReligionLink tip about Mary as the mirror of all mothers. Mary is often associated with reported apparitions and miracles; a Jan. 20, 2003, ReligionLink issue lists experts on miracles.

A Merry Hindu Christmas

Many Hindus regard Jesus as a yogi and follow his teachings. Some think he was in India learning Hindu teachings during the years not accounted for in the Gospels. Mahatma Gandhi said Jesus profoundly influenced him. Are Hindus in your area holding Christmas services and singing carols, as some do? Do they study and discuss Jesus’ words and actions? How do their Hindu traditions color the holiday season?
• The Ramakrishna Vedanta Society of Boston holds a special Christmas Eve service in which the Nativity story is read and Christmas carols are sung. Contact Swami Tyagananda, 617-536-5320, tyagananda@vedantasociety.net.
• Read "How Do Hindus View Jesus Christ?," a 1998 article from The Examiner, posted by Hindu Vivek Kendra.
• Read a biography of Jesus written by Sri Swami Sivananda Saraswati Maharaj, who lived from 1887 to 1963.
• Read a Wikepedia article about Jesus that includes how Hindus and members of other religions see him.
• The painting "Christ the Yogi" hangs at the San Francisco temple of the Vedanta Society of Northern California, where congregants regard Jesus to be a spiritual master who embodied pure love. Contact 415-922-2323, temple@sfvedanta.org.
• The Self-Realization Fellowship, which has headquarters in Los Angeles, follows the teachings of Paramahansa Yogananda (1893-1952) that are based on yoga and on Jesus. The fellowship has temples and meditation centers around the United States. Contact 323-225-2471.
• American religion historian Stephen Prothero is the chairman of the religion department at Boston University. His books include American Jesus: How the Son of God Became a National Icon (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2003). Read a Beliefnet article adapted from his book. Contact 617-353-4426, prothero@bu.edu.

The soundtrack of this Christmas

Complaints about the secularization of Christmas extend to music. But in a difficult year of war and natural disasters, Christmas carols may bring comfort and channel emotion. In fact, many holiday favorites were created during hard times. Take I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote the lyrics around 1862 out of his grief over his wife’s death and his opposition to the Civil War. Is it possible that people this holiday season will reach more toward classic Christmas carols with sacred themes for solace and encouragement? Will secularization continue to be the trend? What messages in newly produced seasonal songs will prove popular?
• William Studwell of Bloomington, Ind., who is a professor emeritus of library sciences at Northern Illinois University, is considered one of the world’s leading experts on Christmas carols. For 20 years, he has named a Carol of the Year. This year it will be Angels We Have Heard on High. Contact 812-330-1996.
• Christmas music historian Ron Clancy of North Cape May, N.J., produces the "Millennia Collection," a multivolume set of Christmas music books and CDs. Contact 609-886-6540, clancyrm@verizon.net.
• Kenneth W. Osbeck of Rockford, Mich., is the author of Amazing Grace: 366 Inspiring Hymn Stories for Daily Devotions (Kregel Publications, 2002) and Joy to the World: The Stories Behind Your Favorite Christmas Carols (Kregel, 2000). Contact 616-866-0791.
• Read a pair of December 2003 columns by Terry Mattingly about carols: "A Caroling We (Don’t) Go" and "What is a ‘carol’ anyway?"
• Read a Dec. 20, 2002, Religion & Ethics Newsweekly feature on Christmas carols.
• Read a Dec. 15, 2000, Christianity Today article, "Peace on Earth? Christmas Carols and the Civil War."

Happy Christmakkah!

This year Hanukkah begins at sundown on Christmas. What a bonanza for the growing number of interfaith families, right? A perfect "teaching moment" to reach out to others – family members, friends and neighbors – to enlighten them on what it means to be an interfaith family today. But most professionals who work with interfaith families are saying these families are taking the alignment of the holidays in stride and generally doing nothing out of the ordinary – simply wrapping presents, lighting candles and gathering together. A new survey conducted by InterfaithFamily.com reflects their attitudes toward the holidays. The survey will be made public Dec. 13, but publisher Edmund Case can discuss its findings with reporters.
• Edmund Case is publisher of InterfaithFamily.com, an online resource for families who incorporate more than one religion in their practices. It is based in Upper Newton Falls, Mass. Contact 617-581-6805, edc@interfaithfamily.com.
• The Dovetail Institute for Interfaith Family Resources stages annual national conferences for interfaith couples about family life issues. It posts a list of local and regional interfaith groups with contact information. Contact executive director Mary Rosenbaum, 800-530-1596.
• Dawn Kepler is the director of Building Jewish Bridges, an outreach to interfaith families, at the Jewish Community Federation of the Greater East Bay in Oakland, Calif. Contact 510-839-2900 ext. 347, dawn@jfed.org.
• Psychologists Susan Sances and Paul Sanders, who are married, have a business called InterfaithHolidays.com to counsel interfaith couples. Sances is Catholic and Sanders is Jewish. Contact them in Chicago, 312-332-6508, susanandpaul@interfaithHolidays.com.
• Ron Miller and Laura Bernstein are authors of Healing the Jewish-Christian Rift: Growing Beyond our Wounded History (Skylight Paths, 2005). Miller is the chair of the religion department at Lake Forest College in Illinois and cofounder of Common Ground, an adult education group for interfaith religious study and dialogue. Bernstein is a Jewish scholar. Contact through associate publicist Kate Treworgy, 802-457-4000, ktreworgy@skylightpaths.com.

When it’s not your holiday

So it’s finally Christmas, and the Christians are all nestled around their trees. What does everyone else do? In some communities, Jews and other non-Christians have formed their own Christmas Day traditions – a way to brighten up the season without climbing on Santa’s sleigh. For some, it’s serving meals at a homeless shelter, then going out for Chinese food. Denver, for example, has the Christmas Mitzvah Project at local hospitals.

Some go to the movies. Some volunteer to work so their Christian co-workers can have the day off. And some throw parties – read a Dec. 23, 2004, Washington Post story that describes everything from the Wiccans’ winter solstice party to the Gefilte Fish Gala. Hundreds show up each year at the National Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia for storytelling and family activities. On Christmas Eve, Jewish singles flock to The Ball in New York City or the Latke Ball in San Francisco, which last year got into a turf war with the upstart Matzo Ball. Many Jewish college students go to Israel for winter break – or, this year, to Louisiana help rebuild New Orleans.

Hospitals and nursing homes run without regard to anyone’s holidays, so Christians and Jews have worked out their own arrangements, with Jews working Christmas while Christians cover Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashanah. This year is no different, despite the fact that Christmas and the first night of Hanukkah fall on the same day.
• For 16 years, Cedar Village, a retirement and nursing home in Mason, Ohio, has held a "Mitzvah Day" every Dec. 25, in which Jewish staff members volunteer to work for Christian staffers. Contact Rachel Festenstein, director of volunteer services, 513-754-3100 ext. 162, rfestenstein@cedar-village.org, or Sally Korkin, director of development and community relations, 513-754-3100, skorkin@cedar-village.org.
• Congregation Or Atid, a Conservative synagogue in Richmond, Va. conducts a "Switch Day," when members take the shifts of Christian volunteers at nearby Beth Sholom Nursing Home. Contact 804-750-2183 ext. 355.

Other religious groups have their own traditions – for example, read a Beliefnet.com story called "My Merry Muslim Christmas." A Dec. 24, 2002, Seattle Times story posted by Matzoball.org talks about what Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims and Jews from that area do.

Home for the holidays

December is more than Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa for college students: It’s also the end of the fall semester. For many – particularly freshmen – these last few months have been their first prolonged time away from home and on their own. As they return to your community for the holidays, ask how the experience has affected them spiritually. Has college changed their beliefs and practices? What are local congregations doing to nurture these members while they’re away, and what are campus ministries offering these days? Is exploration of other faiths – or a seeming abandonment of faith – a normal part of the college experience?
• College students have a great deal of interest and involvement in spirituality and religion, but important differences can be found among student subgroups, particularly between African-Americans and whites, and between men and women, according to new research released in October 2005. The findings are based on data from a national study conducted by the Higher Education Research Institute at the Graduate School of Education & Information Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles.
• The Journal of College and Character includes a wealth of articles by academics on the topic.
• The Institute on College Student Values is a national conference that focuses on research and educational strategies for promoting moral and civic responsibility in college students. The theme for the 2006 conference, scheduled for Feb. 2-4, is "Finding Wholeness: Students’ Search for Meaning and Purpose in College."
• Spirituality 101: The Indispensable Guide to Keeping – or Finding – Your Spiritual Life on Campus (Skylight Paths Publishing, 2004) includes the reflections of dozens of students about their spiritual journeys. Author Harriet Schwartz describes college as a time to explore difficult spiritual questions and seek common ground with people from other traditions.
• How College Affects Students (Jossey-Bass, 2005) includes chapters on moral development and attitudes/values.

Homeless for the holidays

The Federal Emergency Management Agency recently announced that 150,000 people left homeless by Hurricane Katrina have until Dec. 1 to find housing other than government-subsidized apartments. Some will find other housing, but many may become homeless.

They join the estimated 800,000 Americans who are homeless on any given day. As many as 3.5 million people may be homeless at some point in a given year. The plight of Katrina’s victims can help illuminate the plight of the increasing number of homeless people in America and myths about them. Many families are homeless for only a short time because of job loss or other circumstances, but studies show one episode of homelessness can have long-term negative consequences. Consider profiling a family left homeless by Katrina, a family experiencing what will likely be short-term homelessness and another family experiencing long-term homelessness. Explore the reasons for their homelessness with the backdrop of being "home" for the holidays. Religious organizations are a prime providers of food and shelter for the homeless; how are they responding to hurricane victims as well as other homeless?
• Homelessness and poverty are increasing in the United States, and most state budgets have experienced deep cuts in social services. Will this new homeless population stretch scarce resources even further?
• Read a Nov. 15, 2005, Washington Post story posted by StarTribune.com about FEMA’s announcement that 150,000 Katrina evacuees could lose housing.
• Read a transcript of the Urban Institute’s Oct. 4, 2005, panel on homelessness after Hurricane Katrina.
• Read "What will it take to end homelessness?" an Oct. 1, 2001, report from the Urban Institute that includes facts and causes of homelessness.
• More cities and states are enacting laws that target homeless people. Read "Illegal to be Homeless: The Criminalization of Homelessness in the United States," a November 2004 report by the National Coalition for the Homeless.
• Religious organizations are critical in providing shelter and food for the homeless in most cities. How are they responding to increased needs?
• The mission of the National Coalition for the Homeless is to end homelessness. It links to state and local organizations for the homeless.
• Read an August 2005 report from the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty, which describes recent studies that found significant increases in requests for shelter and food assistance in states across the country.
• The U.S. Census Bureau reports that the U.S. poverty level rose to 12.7 percent in 2004 and the percentage of the U.S. population without health insurance stayed steady at 15.7 percent. Read the Aug. 30, 2005, news release.

Christmas: A Muslim-American Parent’s Dilemma

Christmas can be a confusing and frustrating time for American Muslims and their children. If the children attend public schools and watch television, Muslim-American parents probably will have to answer questions about Christmas, Santa Claus, presents, Christmas trees – and why they don’t observe the day. Some Muslim-American parents will be firm with their children about not observing any aspect of the holiday, no matter how secularized it may appear. Others, sympathizing with their children’s feelings about being "different" in school and wanting to give them treats, will allow their young ones to take part in a so-called "Christless Christmas," in which things such as presents, Santa Claus and other secularized symbols can be enjoyed without, they believe, compromising their Muslim faith. There is no clear guide on which direction Muslim-American parents should take in this Christmas question. That’s because there is no one answer in Islam. While the consensus is that Muslims should not take part in any other faith’s religious celebrations, how much leeway they get in terms of a secularized Christmas can depend on how the leader of an individual mosque feels about the issue. How do Muslim-American parents in your community deal with Christmas and their children? How do leaders of your community’s various mosques look upon the issue?
• The Islamic web site Jannah.org offers Muslims this guide to surviving Christmas. It looks at the religious and secular aspects of the day.
• The Muslim web site MuslimWakeup.com has a Jan. 3, 2003, article on Muslims and Christmas.
• The group American Muslims Intent on Learning and Activism has a discussion of American holidays.
• An Islamic scholar on IslamOnline.net offers his take on Christmas, including showing respect for the holiday and to those who celebrate it. He also answers questions from Muslim parents whose children are exposed to Christmas events.
• This 1998 article in the Turkish-American magazine Anadolu looks at one Muslim woman’s challenges in raising children in North America.
• The Islam Project offers this statistical look at Muslims in America.

Religious toys and games

Religious games and toys make great gifts – and a great story. These games and toys are often meant to educate young people about their faith. Some are just plain fun. A holiday review of some of the gift offerings targeted at various religions offers reporters a chance to briefly discuss some tenets and trivia of each in a lighthearted context.

Reporters can invite parents and kids to review the games, discussing how well each entertains and transmits religious information. Ask religious teachers to compile a list of favorite games. Ask faith leaders and teachers about the central tenets they wish to teach kids and how play can transmit or cement these values, history and ideas. Ask for ideas of low-cost or no-cost activities and games that families can do together during the holidays that serve the same purposes. Ask teens and youth to create their own games about their faith.

Examples of religious toys and games:

CHRISTIANITY
• Beginner Bibles in felt, the Left Behind board game and Redemption City of Bondage board game at The Toy Hunt.
• The Playmobil Advent Calendar Animal Christmas at Amazon.com.
• Talking Virgin Mary doll from Messengers of Faith.

JUDAISM
• Alef-Bet Bingo, Harvey Magila, a bouncing dreidel and the Quick Shtick game at Judaism.com.
• Noah’s Ark Peg Puzzle at Amazon.com.

ISLAM
• Quran Challenge, the Hajj board game and the Great Mosque board game, at IslamicBookstore.com.
• First Man and Woman Quran Stories for Little Hearts Puzzle Box and Razanne: The Muslim Doll at Online-Islamic-Store.com.

A gift to be simple

Americans have the "busies." We’ve filled our time with activities, and our lives with possessions that need to be maintained. And, just when the holidays call for us to take time to dwell on what really matters, we become caught up in the rush of shopping, decorating, entertaining and traveling. Yet it’s clear that people also long to simplify. Resources abound on the web for how to prune away unnecessary expenditures and occupations. The resources may be secular, but the notion of simplicity remains spiritual. It’s a basic longing of the soul.
• Rabbi Moti Rieber maintains Jewish Simplicity, a site dedicated to melding the voluntary simplicity movement with Jewish traditions. Read "Simplicity as a Jewish Path," an article by Betsy Teutsch and Rieber, published in 2002 in Reconstructionism Today. Contact rabbimoti@napershalom.org.
• Check the list of local study groups at the Simple Living Network. For the big picture, contact simplicity guru Cecile Andrews at 206-783-1152, cecile@simplicitycircles.com.
• Siang-Yang Tan, pastor of the First Evangelical Church in Glendale, Calif., wrote Rest: Experiencing God’s Peace in a Restless World (Regent College Publishing, 2003). Contact 626-570-8678.
• Read tips on simplifying the holidays from The Center for a New American Dream, an organization that promotes simplicity.
• Seeds of Simplicity, a national, nonprofit membership organization for the general public, is a Los Angeles-based program of the Center for Religion, Ethics & Social Policy at Cornell University. Contact 818-247-4332, seeds@seedsofsimplicity.org.
• Peter C. Whybrow, director of the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at the University of California in Los Angeles, wrote American Mania: When More Is Not Enough (W.W. Norton & Co., 2005). Contact pwhybrow@mednet.ucla.edu.
• Richard J. Foster, who lives in the Denver area, is the author of Freedom of Simplicity: Finding Harmony in a Complex World (HarperSanFrancisco, 25th anniversary edition, 2005). He is a Quaker and the founder of Renovaré, a movement committed to church renewal. Contact 303-792-0152.

More ideas

See ReligionLink’s past holiday idea roundups for other ideas:
• 2004 story ideas
• 2003 story ideas
• 2003: The changing ethics of holiday gift-giving
• 2003: Picturing Jesus: How images reflect and inform belief