The Battle Between Christmas and Advent

The great Advent vs Early Christmas battle continues in earnest. I swear I've never known it this bad. In years gone by, we've had the bling up by mid-October without anyone batting an eyelid. But this year, so much as give half a smile at something and you're being told off for spoiling the season of dread and anticipation by some vicar on Twitter.

So tonight's enactment in the Moot House, "The Battle between Christmas and Advent" was quite a piece of liturgical drama. As Hnaef, festooned in green outfit and white beard as is truly traditional for Big Nick Claus, mimed a battle against a grumpy-looking Anglican vicar trying to get him to think about the Last Things and Judgement. In many ways, a modern reinterpretation of the old Mummers' Plays, I like to think.

Of course, it all got a bit rough when Hnaef grabbed his Deputy Druid's Chair and gave the vicar a thump over the head with it. Not in the script, is what I'm trying to say. Hnaef assures us all he just got carried away, and he was unnerved by the vicar's icy glare. And, to be fair, with his moaning and complaining that Hnaef might have killed him, the vicar was a lot closer to the Last Things by the end of the evening than he was at the beginning.

So a rousing victory for Christmas this evening.  Hnaef is cheerfully going on into the next round, where he is taking on the forces of Secularism.  The winner then meets Capitalism in the final.  That promises to be a bit of a bloodbath.

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Want a good laugh? Want to laugh at the church? Want to be secretly suspicious that the author has been sitting in your church committee meetings taking notes? Then Writes of the Church: Gripes and grumbles of people in the pews is probably the book for you. From Amazon, Sarum Bookshop, The Bible Readers Fellowship and other good Christian bookshops. An excellent book for your churchgoing friends, relatives or vicar. And don't forget it's nearly Christmas!