Last Wednesday I received my first Christmas card of the year from a business, which I suppose marks the end of the beginning of the pre-Christmas season, even though Ordinary Time doesn't officially end until today. Yet another reminder of how the holiday has changed since Dickens first conceived of it in 1840. The traditional Christmas of work houses, ghosts, humbug, little children on crutches, etc. seems far removed from the grotesque spectacle it has become.

Those of you who have watched the original Gremlins will no doubt recall the scene ( which ) captured the true meaning of Christmas in a way yet unsurpassed, and of course, the film itself was a box office smash.