CHRONICLE EDITORIALISTS did two good things over the holidays. First . . .
. . . they wrote a respectful editorial about Christmas.
Despite all the intrusions of popular culture into this seasonal celebration, the Christmas story remains sacred, unique, profound. It holds that the creator of the universe chose to reveal [himself] to humanity in the form of a boy child 2,000 years ago.
. . . .
This is a moment to reflect on the traditional Christian message, peace on Earth, goodwill toward men. And to wish everyone a heartfelt "Merry Christmas!"
(Editorial, "Merry Christmas! The calm of this day calls forth fresh hopes for peace and goodwill," December 25, 2009)
This was a welcome departure from recent years. Chronicle editors had not a word to say about Christmas on December 25, 2008, for instance. The editorial also broke the Chronicle's general pattern of either ignoring America's common civic holidays or displaying some degree of contempt toward them, at least as celebrated by the Less Clever.
This is an important development, I think, because it signals that the Chronicle is willing, finally, to identify in an important and useful way with its readers and with their culture.
Why it took so many years for the newspaper to lay down its ideological arms on Christmas Day (and the Fourth of July and Thanksgiving and Easter and Memorial Day and . . . ) has got to be one of the great mysteries of local journalism.
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