Tough love for Christmas

Firing off what some would not doubt consider another salvo in the "war on Christmas," Soho the Dog (aka Matthew Guerrieri), who considers himself a great fan of Christmas music, nevertheless observes that the Anglo-American celebration of Christmas "was never that big a deal until the Victorians made it that big a deal. . . . [T]he modern Christmas emerged out of a nostalgia for something that never really was in the first place:"

http://sohothedog.blogspot.com/2010/12/troll-ancient-yuletide-carol.html

On a more cheerful note, Christmas is the one time of year when people who ordinarily wouldn't go within a mile of a Renaissance motet or a baroque oratorio joyfully listen to, and even take part in singing, music from the same tradition.