Christmas is not endangered.

Since the dawn of television, we have been treated to countless holiday specials featuring storylines where Christmas is threatened""Christmas must be canceled due to stormy weather; Christmas is drained of its magic because children don't believe in Santa anymore; or nefarious villains steal the wealth of presents in order to destroy Christmas. We are tempted to conclude, as these stories suggest, that Christmas is a frail and fragile thing which needs a hero to save it!

Hence, we have seen Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer save Christmas, a town of mice who save Christmas, Sesame Street's Elmo saving Christmas, a Veggie Tales toy that saves Christmas, and even Ernest the redneck had to save Christmas once.

This may be entertaining, but it is supremely silly.

Christmas is not endangered, frail, or fragile. Christmas is God's work to infuse divine grace into the world. The power of Christmas is the nativity of Jesus Christ, which no creature ever could have devised or delivered. No creature needs to "save Christmas." On the contrary, it is Christmas that saves us. God's gift of Christmas has the inherent power to melt or mend hearts and introduce us to a new beginning in life. This is the reason for this happy little story, The Boy That Christmas Saved.

It's Christmas morning in the Hoffheffer home, but seven-year-old Hiram is hiding in his room for shame. Hiram knows he has been a bad boy and fears the consequences. When Hilda and Hector, Hiram's parents, grow worried about him, they use some extreme and humorous tactics to placate their son. They discover, however, that salvation and new beginnings are things that only God can do, and Christmas is the perfect day for it.

--Tom Hollis

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