Opinion Today: The beautiful strangeness of the Christmas story

Seeing my family's Nativity set with fresh eyes.

View in browser|nytimes.com Continue reading the main story December 24, 2021 By Eleanor Barkhorn Editor at Large, Opinion I'll be celebrating Christmas this year for the 38th time in my life, and by now, the images of the holiday are comfortingly familiar: the baby Jesus wrapped in swaddling cloths, surrounded by Mary and Joseph as the shepherds and wise men look on. It's a lovely, cozy scene, the inspiration for thousands of paintings and Nativity sets. But as Esau McCaulley points out in an essay, the Christmas story is weird. The holiday is strange by design. And that's part of what makes it special. The story claims that the little baby is not just any baby, but God himself. It's very strange that the all-powerful creator God became, as McCaulley writes, "a child, weak and vulnerable, unable to lift his head without assistance or to wipe his own bottom." The strangeness gives way to other, smaller strangenesses: It's strange that the wise men came to see Jesus. They weren't Jewish or worshippers of the God of Israel — their expertise, as McCaulley writes, "ranged from interpretation of dreams to astrology." I love the analogy that McCaulley uses to describe the oddness of their turning up in Bethlehem: "It might be the equivalent of someone showing up at church on Sunday after her horoscope suggested that she try new things." But the strangeness, McCaulley argues, is the point: "The Gospels of Luke and Matthew depict the birth of Jesus as the gathering of not the rich and powerful but the lower class (Mary and Joseph), the common workers (the shepherds) and the religious outsiders (Magi)." So I hope this year to look at my family's Nativity set with fresh eyes, marveling at the miraculous strangeness of this scene that I think I know so well. And I wish you all a very happy, very weird holiday. Read the essay here. Opinion Today will be taking break over the holidays. We'll be back Jan. 3. Happy New Year! Damon Winter/The New York Times Guest Essay Christmas Is Weird Christmas is the grand miracle that makes space for all the smaller miracles. By Esau McCaulley Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT Here's what we're focusing on today: Editors' Picks Every Stranger Has a Story Emotions run hot during the holidays. By Lee Lai Ideas Frank Bruni My Gay Retort to All the Grimness Not everything in our country and our world has deteriorated. By Frank Bruni Guest Essay A Feast Isn't Just About Food. It's About Joy. There's a widespread need to reconnect to all the things that make life worth living, and what better moment than now? By Abhijit Banerjee Jay Caspian Kang Finding Inspiration in an Otherwise Dull Year Books, kombucha, and a ridiculous egg spoon — the things that kept me going and fed this newsletter. By Jay Caspian Kang What You're Saying letters Getting Past the Manchin Roadblock and Saving Biden's Plan Readers discuss how to salvage Build Back Better, and praise and decry Mr. Manchin. Also: Pause pro sports; the Jan. 6 inquiry. Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT Subscribe Today New York Times Opinion curates a wide range of views, inviting rich discussion and debate that helps readers analyze the world. This work is made possible with the support of subscribers. Please consider subscribing to The Times with this special offer. Games Here is today's Mini Crossword and Spelling Bee. If you're in the mood to play more, find all our games here. Forward this newsletter to friends to share ideas and perspectives that will help inform their lives. They can sign up here. Do you have feedback? Email us at opiniontoday@nytimes.com. Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT Contact us If you have questions about your Times account, delivery problems or other issues, visit our Help Page or contact The Times. Continue reading the main story Need help? Review our newsletter help page or contact us for assistance. You received this email because you signed up for the Opinion Today newsletter from The New York Times. To stop receiving these emails, unsubscribe or manage your email preferences. Subscribe to The TimesGet The New York Times app Connect with us on: Change Your EmailPrivacy PolicyContact UsCalifornia Notices The New York Times Company. 620 Eighth Avenue New York, NY 10018

Opinion Today: It’s time to grieve

How do we mourn the parts of our lives we're still losing?

View in browser|nytimes.com Continue reading the main story December 23, 2021 By Lindsay Crouse Opinion Writer and Producer In March 2020, for the first time in my adult life, my calendar was totally, stunningly, empty. I accepted the change, assuming our newfound stasis would be temporary. Part of me was grateful to be shaken out of my routines, however jarring the interruption was. After all, there were more important things than the lecture on leadership models in women's sports I was going to give in Rhode Island that spring. We all had to do our part to stop Covid. Of course, it wasn't temporary. When I got into the elevator and went home from work that last day before lockdown, my life, like most people's, changed forever. Now that we're winding down a second year of pandemic, and bracing for yet another holiday amid yet another Covid surge, a new truth is sinking in. Our lives are not going to go back to the way they were. Instead, we're left to grieve the lives we've lost — and continue to lose. In today's video, made with Kirby Ferguson and Emily Holzknecht, I propose a framework for doing just that. Most of us could use one right now. There are so many plans that got put on hold and then simply never happened. Years we'll never get back. Sometimes it feels like the only thing that moved forward in the pandemic was time. The New York Times Of course, we're grateful for what we still have. But the precious things we lost, even the little things, matter. And the idea that we should just move on with our lives — maybe the idea that there's any closure to be had at all — is flawed. We can be grateful and grieve at the same time. Watch the full video here. Grieving Our Old Normal How do we mourn everything we've lost to Covid? By Lindsay Crouse, Kirby Ferguson and Emily Holzknecht Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT Here's what we're focusing on today: Editors' Picks And Now … Your End-of-the-Year Quiz Let's see how much you remember. By Gail Collins On the News Charles M. Blow Where's Joe Biden? Biden's administration needs a pinch of cayenne. By Charles M. Blow Guest Essay Will Donald Trump Get Away With Inciting an Insurrection? Trying to upend a free and fair election is one of the gravest crimes imaginable. We're worried Merrick Garland isn't taking it seriously enough. By Laurence H. Tribe, Donald Ayer and Dennis Aftergut Guest Essay A Message From Britain on Using Rapid Tests Rapid tests can help against Omicron if used correctly. By Alan McNally Mara Gay The Rise of Eric Adams and Black New York Eric Adams winning coalition shows how the city's power structure has changed.  By Mara Gay Ideas greg bensinger Why Uber Won't Call the Police Ride-sharing rests on a promise of safety. What if one side isn't keeping up their end of the bargain? By Greg Bensinger Jessica Grose Parenting in 2021? 'Not Great, Bob!' But we can still find ways to cackle with our kids. By Jessica Grose Guest Essay Why Jesus Never Stopped Asking Questions Jesus liked to turn the tables on his interlocutors, especially those who were in the business of asking questions themselves. By Peter Wehner Peter Coy Why It's Easier Than Ever to Buy a Used Car Services such as Carfax give buyers confidence that they're getting a cherry, not a lemon. By Peter Coy Contributing Op-Ed Writer Bringing the Chords of Freedom Behind Bars Jail Guitar Doors provides prisoners with instruments to improve their lives. By Tom Morello Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT What You're Saying letters Covid Measures and Misnomers Readers discuss President Biden's plan, the term "breakthrough infections" and long Covid. Also: Public education inequities; political donations.  Subscribe Today New York Times Opinion curates a wide range of views, inviting rich discussion and debate that helps readers analyze the world. This work is made possible with the support of subscribers. Please consider subscribing to The Times with this special offer. Games Here is today's Mini Crossword and Spelling Bee. If you're in the mood to play more, find all our games here. Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT Forward this newsletter to friends to share ideas and perspectives that will help inform their lives. They can sign up here. Do you have feedback? Email us at opiniontoday@nytimes.com. Contact us If you have questions about your Times account, delivery problems or other issues, visit our Help Page or contact The Times. Continue reading the main story Need help? Review our newsletter help page or contact us for assistance. You received this email because you signed up for the Opinion Today newsletter from The New York Times. To stop receiving these emails, unsubscribe or manage your email preferences. Subscribe to The TimesGet The New York Times app Connect with us on: Change Your EmailPrivacy PolicyContact UsCalifornia Notices The New York Times Company. 620 Eighth Avenue New York, NY 10018