From Dale Ahlquist @cworldreport, about being raised in Protestantism:

We didn’t call the creche a creche. I would not have even known that word. We also didn’t use the word “Nativity,” even though I might have known that word. We called it a “manger scene.” But that manger scene was not for meditation; it was merely for decoration. Like the ornaments on the tree. Meaningful, yes. But not a sacramental. There were no sacramentals because there were no sacraments. We told ourselves . . . I’m not sure what we told ourselves. The fact is, however, our family was present with the Holy Family every Christmas.

G. K. Chesterton says, “If the world wanted what is called a non-controversial aspect of Christianity, it would probably select Christmas. Yet it is obviously bound up with what is supposed to be a controversial aspect (I could never at any stage of my opinions imagine why): the respect paid to the Blessed Virgin.”