A Book A Week

I think it is safe to say that for many of us, this Christmas was anything but ordinary. My Christmas traditions usually consist of traveling home to see my parents, attending Christmas Eve church services, and celebrating the evening and following day with a large family gathering. Thanks to COVID-19, this was the first Christmas that I spent away from my family. There was no traveling, and holding our usual party was simply out of the question. Still, we managed to find ways of adapting our traditions to adhere to this new normal. Instead of attending church together, I watched it virtually. Instead of gathering around the Christmas tree to unwrap presents, we shipped gifts to each other and opened them during a FaceTime call. Fortunately, one of my personal traditions stayed exactly the same. As Christmas Eve turned to Christmas morning, I stayed awake, reading the final pages of a good book. 

When John Grisham, known more for his legal thrillers than Holiday-themed fare, published Skipping Christmas back in 2001, the idea of foregoing the holiday probably sounded absurd. In fact, Luther Krank's money-saving scheme of taking a cruise instead of practicing the family Christmas traditions raised ire and disbelief across his entire neighborhood. Krank did little to appease his community perception as a modern-day Ebenezer Scrooge. In fact, he relished in the opportunity to smugly rub his nonconformity in everyone's face. As such, he isn't the most likable character. But like the aforementioned Scrooge, Krank goes through a transformation. Through the power of a community coming together to bring the spirit of the season to an outsider, Luther Krank embraces that Christmas magic and learns to appreciate the smaller wonders of the holiday. 

I've read this book before, but this year saw the novel take on a deeper meaning for me. Sure, you'll have to overlook the unlikable main character and the all too convenient plotting, but there is something to be said about the idea of skipping Christmas this year. While we didn't skip our observance of the holiday, the way in which we approached it was vastly different. I think that Skipping Christmas mirrors our reality in some ways. How easy would it have been for us to simply put a halt to our celebration? In a year that has seen so much tragedy and despair, I'll admit that it felt a bit silly falling into the commercialism of decorating my home and buying gifts. But those are just trivial parts of what this season truly means. Like the neighborhood in the book, countless friends and families came together to keep the spirit of community that flows through this season alive. While 2020 certainly hasn't looked or felt like any other year that I've experienced, I'm glad that we made the effort to persevere through it all. More importantly, I'm thankful that we didn't skip Christmas. 

For more information visit the author's website, Amazon, and Goodreads. 

(2020, 51)