Posts Tagged: "Culture Wars"

Advent Day 6: The Littleness of Christmas

When we recall Christmas past, we usually find that the simplest things – not the great occasions – give off the greatest glow of happiness. —Bob Hope

One of the reasons I love the National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation movie is because of how it portrays unrealistic expectations and the spiraling descent into reality when those expectations are not met.

Clark Griswold dreams of hosting the perfect and bigger-than-life Christmas with his family… the enormous tree, so many lights on his house that the power plant has to activate its back-up power supply, the perfect Christmas meal (with Aunt Bethany giving the perfect blessing), and the ultimate big surprise: announcing his plans to use his Christmas bonus to put in a swimming pool.

Every big expectation he has of the perfect Christmas fails in one way or another and he begins to unravel. It’s pure… Read More