Nature is an infinite sphere of which the center is everywhere and the circumference nowhere. Blaise Pascal

Happy thoughts for Christmas:

Joseph Bottum on Christmas-time and finding the right style to celebrate.

Patry Francis writes about happy families, and not-so-happy families and family mottos. Does your family have motto, a phrase that epitomizes the ethos of your family, the message that your family conveys to each other and to the world? I’m going to have to think about that. (By the way, Ms. Francis is a wonderful writer. I’m looking forward to reading her book when it actually gets into print.)

Wilfred McClay at Mere Comments chooses his most striking Christmas carol for the year: God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen

We are constantly reminded to “keep Christ in Christmas” and to remember “the reason for the season.” And of course that’s entirely right. But it’s also important, if I may put it this way, to keep Satan in Christmas, and not to skip too lightly over the lyrics that mention him. It changes the way we understand Christmas, if we also hold in our minds an awareness of the darkness into which Christ came, and comes, to save us.

Peregrine Ward at Mere Orthodoxy on vacations and holidays: ” . . . whereas a break or absence from life is etymologically the primary significance of “vacation”, “holiday” only implicitly includes absence, but primarily includes observance, engagement, celebration—in other words, one takes a holiday in order to do something, not stop something.”

The blog of the American Chesterton Society looks to be a great place for discussion of all things Chesterton.

Gene Veith defends the commercialization of Christmas.

Charmaine Yoest on what a real lady looks like.

Finally to “balance” the “happy thoughts” (so I don’t feminize the blogosphere), I offer for your consideration iMonk on Prissy Protestants: Why We Need More Men Like Peggy Noonan. I’m not sure what I think about all this interest in crude language, pro and con, but it’s interesting. It seems to me that the English language is rich in words, and my mama always told me that people who use crude or profane language have limited vocabularies. Read the comments, too.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good day, or night. I’ll see you on the other side of Christmas.