Put Christ Back in Christopher Hitchens

It is Christmas eve. All around the country parents are lying brazenly to their children; the children are pretending to believe them because they know there'll be a payoff by morning. It's a time-honored ritual that prepares the kids for politics, for dating, and for other grown-up customs.

My family doesn't have big Christmas plans this year. Indeed, my wife is going to spend the day working for holiday pay at the local paper. (December 25: It's the day the Jews really do run the media.) But before she leaves there will still be Christmas presents and Christmas music, possibly including one of my favorite carols:

And maybe some of the neighbors will add a rousing chorus from this one:

A merry Christmas, a happy Festivus, and a joyous Saturnalia to you all. I'll see you after the holiday.