For Acculturated: The 'A Christmas Carol' You Should Be Watching

I'm obsessed with all versions of A Christmas Carol. I've seen a one man show on stage in London, and almost every movie version there is (the good ones, at least). AND I've read the book! But, if you are low on time and can't watch every single version, read my latest article for Acculturated to find out which one you should be watching!

What Millennials Understand about Christmas

Photo Credit: Julia Dent

The Christmas tree is up, decorated, and lit. Lights are strung outside, illuminating the dark and cold night. More lights are found creeping up railings, woven in garlands and tied with bows. Every surface is laden with something green, red, or sparkly. Stockings are hung. Nutcrackers dance across the piano. Santas gaze from the mantel. Snowmen tip their hats from the cupboard shelf. A Nativity is placed with an empty spot, awaiting the coming of the Christ child.

This is a home ready for Christmas.

But not my home.

Here Comes the Bride

I have always been uncomfortable with prayer/chapel veils for Catholic women. Growing up in Catholic school, only the Home School Association families at our First Friday masses wore them, so naturally I thought them odd, awkward, and out of place, just like those kids. (Ah, the "innocence" of childhood thought!) It wasn't until this June, when I attended GIVEN, that I began to understand what the veil really meant, and the beautiful power it imparts.

Several young women at the conference wore their veils during mass, and of course my initial gut reaction was, well now we know who the super Catholic women are - an absurd thought in an environment of all super (awesome) Catholic women, myself included. On the last day, I sat at brunch with a woman who had decided over the course of the week to change her action plan to making and selling affordable prayer veils. She hadn't grown up wearing a veil, but rather it was a conscious choice she had recently made, and it had transformed her prayer life, she said. The veil signaled to her a vital shift in where she was and what she was doing. She was draped in the presence of God. She said to try it out, I might like it more than I thought I would.

Fear of Settling? Find a Friend

Most of us have had to decide whether to move forward in a romantic relationship. Whether you have been on 3 dates or been together 3 years, at some point you always have to assess if this is the "right" person for you. This can be a really difficult assessment to make for some, for others, easy as pie -"Oh I just knew I was going to marry your father!" As a culture, we have two positions that complicate making this choice: the "Disney" complex and the "Don't Settle" complex. The expectations of these positions can make dating fraught with anxiety and filled with pressures beyond who will be putting dinner on the table.