A Merry Christmas Morning To You!

Today's beautiful Christmas morning image -- one that hints at a manger in the bent-over, snow-laden, lighted tree in the foreground; the kings, angels, shepherds, Joseph and Mary represented in the tall tree; all in a pool of hopeful, growing light against a black, dark world -- is the homepage screen of Ask.com this morning.

It's complete with a "Merry Christmas" message, with Christmas underlined, both as emphasis and as a link. The link page leads with:

Christmas

is a mid-winter festival observed as the birth date of Jesus Christ. Many people celebrate the season with gift-giving, tree decorating, and Santa Claus. Christmas is Monday, December 25, 2006

this year. It is Tuesday, December 25, 2007

next year.

Not exactly the poetic beauty of the bible, but there's Jesus, front and center, as He should be.

Thank you Ask, for an unanticipated and lovely Christmas gift.

Meanwhile, over at Google, we have two kangaroos standing by something that's barely recognizable as a generic, totally secular wreath. It's the culmination of a five-day sequence they're proud enough to link to.

It's cute enough, but that's it; cute. Nothing spiritual, just a material, gift-oriented message, complete with "Happy Holidays" in numerous languages. (I've never seen "Felices Fiestas" before.)

Well, Merry Christmas to you all. My favorite in-laws are visiting and they just woke up. My brother-in-law greeted me with this:

I was talking with my brother yesterday and told him, "I just don't know if I could sacrifice one of my children for mankind the way God did."

Nor could I. And that, my friends, is the miracle that began on Christmas morning 2,000 year ago.

Related Tags: Christmas, Secularism, Christianity, Google, Ask