At Schole Sisters, we want to remind ourselves and our listeners that we shouldn’t be the White Witch in our homes – making it always winter, but never Christmas. Christmas is worth the effort of celebration.

But what about when times are tight? Gas is high, inflation is high, and most of us are feeling the pinch. Does this mean Christmas is off the table?

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Keyword Intro [2:33-20:00] Scholé Everyday segment * [23:38] Why we celebrate Christmas in the first place * [29:05] Responding to poverty * [45:14] Christmas with or without presents? Today’s Hosts and SourceBrandy Vencel*
makes homemade Christmas ornaments every year with her kids.

Mystie Winckler
carries on her family’s tradition of presents under the tree appearing overnight Christmas morning.

Abby Wahl
takes live lambs to the church Christmas pageant where her kids sing and act.

“Christmas won’t be Christmas without any presents.”

Little Women

Scholé Everyday: What We’re Reading Nothing Found For the Family’s Sake, Susan Schaeffer MacauleyBrandy is reading the companion book to Macauley’s For the Children’s Sake for the first time.

Peak Mind, Amishi JhaAbby is reading this airport bookstore find and enjoying the productivity and attention hacks presented.

Law & Liberty, RushdoonyMystie is reading this because her husband read it for a men’s book club; it’s her first Rushdoony title, although many books she’s read in the past two decades have cited him.

What are we celebrating?Before we begin talking about Christmas and how to celebrate it, we have to remember that we are celebrating the incarnation. The incarnation of Christ is about Christ coming as God in the flesh, interrupting people’s lives, and messing up people’s plans and expectations. Christ gave Himself to us, and so at Christmas it is appropriate to imitate him in giving generously and practicing receiving gifts gratefully.

Responding to povertyThe first thing we see in Little Women is the girls’ poor responses to poverty. They complain and grumble and compare their current circumstances to their past abundance and to their neighbors. Comparison is the thief of joy.

Marmee herself, in suggesting they do no presents at all, inadvertently opens the door to the girls – who would be happy to purchase presents for others – to consider using their money for themselves instead.

But the point of Christmas is not getting new things. The point of Christmas presents is practicing generosity in gratitude for the generous grace we have received in Christ.

Generosity in lean timesIt’s still possible to be generous even when you have little yourself, as the March family shows when they take their meager breakfast to a family with less than they have.

Celebrating in lean timesCelebrating is about much more than getting and giving cool presents. There’s the food, there’s the decorating, there’s the singing – all of which can be joy-filled and abundant without spending much money.

Mentioned in the Episode Nothing Found * Why Mystie isn’t keen on Louisa May Alcott & why Brandy said she was raised in a cult Listen to related episodes:SS #116 – Feasting in a time of fastingAt Schole Sisters, we want to remind ourselves and our listeners that we shouldn’t be the White Witch in our homes – making it always winter, but never Christmas. Christmas is worth the effort of celebration. But what about when times are tight? Gas is high, inflation is high, and most of us are feeling…Read More SS #116 – Feasting in a time of fastingSS #46: What the Dickens?Today’s episode features a discussion of Charles Dickens’ famous story A Christmas Carol, which is Brandy’s FAVORITE Christmas story. Naturally, Mystie and Pam tried to ruin it for her, but she was undaunted, and thinks you will be, too. Thank you to our sponsor: This episode is sponsored by Mystie’s Brain Dump…Read More SS #46: What the Dickens?SS #30: Putting the Merry Back in ChristmasToday, the Scholé Sisters get real about Christmas. Mystie says we can be classical not just in our approach to education, but also in our approach to happiness. Does the classical tradition have something to offer us at Christmas as well? We talk about depression and grief, yes, but also bad attitudes and dangerous expectations,…Read More SS #30: Putting the Merry Back in ChristmasSS #16: Don’t Be the White WitchIn spite of empty platitudes and trite sayings, we get — philosophically speaking — to the bottom of Christmas, after all. Are our homes the equivalent of Narnia without Aslan? Always winter and never Christmas? Don’t be the white witch! The work of Christmas can actually be an integral part of scholé. Can we simplify…Read More SS #16: Don’t Be the White WitchWant to talk about the ideas presented here? The conversation is happening inside Sistership.The post SS #116 – Feasting in a time of fasting appeared first on Scholé Sisters.