Al’s Christmas Tea: Bible Sales Soar, Dr. Jill Unveils White House Christmas Decorations
The Grand Foyer of the White House is decorated for the holidays.
Welcome back in for Al’s Christmas Tea, a time to stop and sample some of the stories of the season.
“A Season of Peace and Light”: Dr. Jill Unveils White House Decorations
For her final time as First Lady, Jill Biden unveiled this year’s White House Christmas decorations on Monday. This year’s theme: “A Season of Peace and Light.”
According to PBS, more than 300 volunteers spent a week helping create the “whimsical” White House display, setting up and decorating 83 Christmas trees with some 28,000 ornaments and nearly 10,000 feet of ribbon, to say nothing off wreaths, garlands, and assorted other Christmas décor.
While PBS described the decorations as “whimsical,” critics said some of the décor better resembles a circus than a celebration of Christ. Regardless of the reviews, it was nice to give families of National Guard service members the first look.
Dr. Jill will find herself in classier surroundings as she heads to France for the reopening of the Cathedral of Notre Dame. There, she’ll be joined by at least one president … and not the one she’s married to.
President-Elect Trump Attending Reopening of Cathedral of Notre Dame
Just in time for Christmas, the Cathedral of Notre Dame will be holding its first mass this weekend since a catastrophic fire destroyed much of the iconic structure five years ago.
French President Emmanuel Macron invited President-Elect Donald Trump along with 50 other world leaders to the two-day event. Actually, according to Le Monde, Macron “pleaded” with Trump to attend. It is unclear at this point whether Joe Biden, who’s been in Africa, will be joining the historic reopening or whether Trump will meet with Dr. Jill while he’s there.
Pope Francis will not be there. He declined his invitation, not wanting to be a distraction. “The star of the Notre Dame reopening ceremony is Notre Dame itself,” said Eric de Moulin-Beaufort, head of the French Bishops’ Conference.
As part of the ceremony, Paris Archbishop Laurent Ulrich will symbolically “reawaken” the church’s massive pipe organ. According to The Associated Press, each of the organ’s 8,000 pipes, ranging from some the length of a pen to others 10 meters tall, had to be painstakingly disassembled, cleaned, and retuned.
Perhaps we will learn whether one can do the “Trump Dance” to the bellowing of a church organ.
National Geographic photographer Tomas van Houtryve had the “humbling and profoundly inspiring” honor of documenting the restoration of Notre Dame. He told Ars Technica:
Many people don’t realize that Gothic cathedrals like Notre-Dame de Paris were originally designed to be light, bright, and vibrant spaces of worship. Over centuries, time and human interaction dulled their appearance, creating the more imposing image we often associate with them. Seeing the cathedral fully cleaned, with its light stone walls restored to their original brilliance, felt like stepping back in time to another world. It was awe-inspiring to see the cathedral as it was meant to be, a true testament to its enduring beauty.
Catholics for Choice Abuse Mary
At the other end of the spectrum, however, Catholics for Choice has decided to evoke Mary this Christmas to promote the slaughter of innocents — proving to be more Herod-like than holy.
This holiday season, remember that Mary had a choice, and you should, too.
— Catholics for Choice (@Catholic4Choice) December 1, 2024
Still a Bestseller: Bible Sales Soaring This Year
Yes, the Bible has been a bestseller since the invention of the printing press. Still, it is exciting to learn that Bible sales in America have soared this past year — up 22% in October from last year, according to Circana Book Scan, compared to 1% growth in overall print book sales. More than 13.7 million Bibles were sold in the first 10 months of 2024.
What’s driving these sales? HarperCollins Christian Publishing CEO Mark Schoenwald told the Wall Street Journal that much of it is due to social media influencers and celebrities openly sharing their faith, contributing to the boom in first-time Bible buyers. New design variations and translations are helping as well.
However, Jeff Crosby, president of the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association, points to a deeper reason people are turning to Scripture.
“People are experiencing anxiety themselves, or they’re worried for their children and grandchildren,” he said. “It’s related to artificial intelligence, election cycles … and all of that feeds a desire for assurance that we’re going to be OK.”
“And the angel said to them, ‘Fear not, for behold, I bring you tidings of great joy that will be for all the people.’” (Luke 2:10)
On The Stream Menu…
Dr. Jules Gomes warns us about an assisted suicide bill that has passed the first chamber of British Parliament in “Big Money from Depopulation Lobby Boosts UK Assisted Dying Bill.”
On a lighter note, John Zmirak interviews Eric Metaxas about “Why You Should See Bonhoeffer Right Now, Instead of Wicked or Queer.”
Al Perrotta is The Stream’s Washington bureau chief, coauthor with John Zmirak of The Politically Incorrect Guide to Immigration, and coauthor of the counterterrorism memoir Hostile Intent: Protecting Yourself Against Terrorism.