Category Archives: Christian Festivals

Carols by Candlelight: a true Australian tradition

Warwick Marsh Flat White Getty Images Warwick Marsh 23 December 2023 6:00 PM The tradition of Carols by Candlelight in Australia finds its roots intertwined with the arrival of the Cornish Methodist miners in the mid-1800s, particularly in places like Moonta, South Australia. These miners brought with them a rich heritage of faith, including the cherished tradition ofContinue reading “Carols by Candlelight: a true Australian tradition”

Christmas – a Dogmatic Truth, Grounded in a Historical Fact

… and that changes everything James Macpherson 24 Dec 2023 Christmas is a dogmatic truth grounded in a historical fact – no wonder some people hate it. Our modern world detests dogma. It insists that truth is relative and that nothing can be set in stone, since things set in stone allow no wriggle roomContinue reading “Christmas – a Dogmatic Truth, Grounded in a Historical Fact”

What Is Advent? The History, Meaning and Traditions

Some people may know that Advent serves as an anticipation of Christ’s birth in the season leading up to Christmas. That’s only part of the story. Justin Holcomb Contributing Writer Updated Nov 28, 2023 SHARE Advent is the season of reflective preparation for Christ’s Nativity at Christmas and Christ’s expected return in the Second Coming.Continue reading “What Is Advent? The History, Meaning and Traditions”

Easter is not about chocolate eggs and rabbits.

Bernie Finn    · Easter is not about chocolate eggs and rabbits. It’s not about an extra long weekend. Its not even about the Royal Children’s Hospital Appeal. As important as all of those things are, Easter is about the execution like a common criminal of the greatest human being to have ever lived andContinue reading “Easter is not about chocolate eggs and rabbits.”

Palm Sunday: 2nd April, 2023

By Baldmichael Theresoluteprotector’sson It is Palm Sunday today, the day Christians remember in commemoration of Jesus entering Jerusalem on a donkey whilst people cheered and laid down palm fronds and cloaks in front of him on the road. I am going to jump straight in to looking at anagrams of the words ‘Palm Sunday’ andContinue reading “Palm Sunday: 2nd April, 2023”

Harry, Meghan and the troubling erasure of Christmas

World Jake Wallis Simons [Getty] Jake Wallis Simons 19 December 2022 7:30 PM H and M – no, the other brand – are causing trouble again. ‘Sussexes send out Happy Woke-mas card to friends’, griped the Mail on Sunday. Their crime? Wishing friends a ‘Joyful Holiday Season’ rather than a more traditional Merry Christmas. GivenContinue reading “Harry, Meghan and the troubling erasure of Christmas”

Life is hard for Bethlehem’s Christians

World Melanie McDonagh (Credit: Getty images) Melanie McDonagh 23 December 2022 5:45 PM O Little Town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie: except the place is, in fact, buzzing in the run-up to Christmas. I had to squeeze between groups of American tourists to get into the little Church of the Nativity, builtContinue reading “Life is hard for Bethlehem’s Christians”

A Christmas tree vs. the fringe gender activists

Flat White Rod Lampard Pexels Rod Lampard 26 December 2022 10:00 AM Authorities in the little town of Dedham Massachusetts went into damage control this week after abandoning the town’s decades-long tradition of displaying a Christmas tree in the local library. Gobsmacked by the news, branch supervisor, Lisa Desmond said: ‘I found out today that my beautiful library willContinue reading “A Christmas tree vs. the fringe gender activists”

10 reasons why Santa Claus is a Communist

Flat White Arthur Chrenkoff Arthur Chrenkoff 24 December 2019 7:07 PM Bah-humbug! Sorry people to snow on your parade (or should it be “sorry, snowflakes to rain on your parade”) but there is something you should know about the supposedly jolly good fellow who brings you presents once a year:  he is really a communist.Continue reading “10 reasons why Santa Claus is a Communist”

‘Away with the Manger’: Christmas hijacked by politics

Flat White Away with the manger; no wisemen from afar; the little Lord Jesus; replaced by Indigenous art! Brianna McKee Photo: Flat White Editor Brianna McKee 24 December 2022 10:00 AM Imagine Sydney’s Queen Victoria Building bulldozed into rubble. That was the likely fate of the historic structure in the 1960s before a massive restorationContinue reading “‘Away with the Manger’: Christmas hijacked by politics”

How Dickens invented Christmas

World William Cook William Cook 18 December 2022 5:30 PM Time was, the Christmas shopping season used to last a week or two. Now it drags on for months. Never mind wage inflation – what about present inflation? The whole thing is like a gigantic poker game, where the stakes are raised remorselessly every year.Continue reading “How Dickens invented Christmas”

Is Christmas really a pagan festival?World

World Francis Young Bringing Home the Yule Log by A. Hunt (Getty) Francis Young 23 December 2022 9:00 PM It’s as much a part of the season now as baubles, tinsel and the Christmas Number One: those articles, blogs and memes that pop up during the festive season claiming that Christmas, in spite of theContinue reading “Is Christmas really a pagan festival?World”

An Australian Christmas

Flat White Alexandra Marshall Getty Images Alexandra Marshall 24 December 2022 2:30 PM When I was small, Christmas meant visiting my nan in St Ives. Her house existed in a state of chaos, overflowing with small, brightly-wrapped presents. They sat in sacks between the antique couches and lay in piles that had slouched against theContinue reading “An Australian Christmas”

ALed Jones sings ‘O Holy Night’ with star 12-year-old treble in Christmas duet

21 December 2022, 10:34 | Updated: 21 December 2022, 21:53 By Kyle Macdonald He was the iconic chorister voice of the 1980s, but this festive season tenor Aled Jones sings a duet to introduce a great treble voice of our time. A legendary treble voice of the past, meets one of the most gifted youngContinue reading “ALed Jones sings ‘O Holy Night’ with star 12-year-old treble in Christmas duet”