I have no affinity for sappy extra-biblical Christmas songs that portray baby Jesus in pastels through soft camera lenses. I put those songs in the same category as 99 Cents Stores, teacher’s pins, Christmas lawn inflations, Macdonald’s hamburgers, Hallmark’s religious cards, pink stucco, and baby shower games. I can hardly sing a line of some such songs without whispering some snide remark as a tag-line to the person next to me. “The Night is dark, with snow descending, Bells gaily chime a festal song!” You must mean cowbells. And what the heck is a festal? “His Mother bending over him smiles Upon his face sublime.” Until it was burping time and then he spit up quite a bit, and it wasn’t sublime “No warm, white covering in the manger To keep the Babe from bitter cold;” What is this? Siberia? They didn’t have a cloak?! What about the swaddling clothes? Heresy! “Only cobwebs for the stranger From rafter high they hang gray and old.” Oh, I see.