Hili dialogue: Holiday edition

December 25, 2025 • 7:00 am

Welcome to December 25, 2025, and of course it’s not only Christmas, but the first day of Koynezaa, my personal holiday extending from today until my birthday (December 30).

We’re at the end of another year, and it was almost sixteen years ago that this website started, first simply as a way to promote my book Why Evolution is True.  But then it grew into a monster, chronicling many of the things I was thinking about, and, to my surprise, people wanted to read about more than vestigial organs and island biogeography.

Well, I’m still here for the nonce, and greatly appreciate the readers, including those who send me links, tips, and especially wildlife photos. (It’s time to send more in!) 2025 pretty much sucked, both personally and worldwide, and so let me leave you with hopes that 2026 will be brighter. Of course we’ll have more bad news, but remember that life is short, that it’s is a gift (from your parents and the Universe, not from God), and that you’re not going to be moaning about Trump on your deathbed.  Eat, drink, be merry, tell your friends you love them, and read good books.

Best holiday wishes from Professor Ceiling Cat (Emeritus)!

I’ll proffer just a few holiday-related items before we get to our most awesome Readers’ Cats Parade. It’ll be posted at 9 a.m. Chicago time.

Da Nooz:

*More of the same Department: The Justice Department announced that they’ve found a million more Epstein files!  Where were they hiding? Was there a huge cabinet of documents that were simply overlooked.  The exegesis and redaction of those documents will last well into 2026.

*If you need Jesus today Department:  If there’s any doubt that the Free Press is going way soft on faith, doubtlessly via orders from above, here are two headlines on today’s front page. First, a list of eleven books from religionists to fill that GOD-SIZED HOLE IN YOUR HEART.  (You do have one, don’t you? My latest echocardiogram didn’t show one, but perhaps others have one.) Click headline to read.

Here’s the intro from the editors, all of whom have the Big Lacuna:

Between the rush of travel, hosting, and endless to-do lists, the Christmas and New Year season can easily become a frenzy—leaving little space for what the holidays are truly about: rest, connection, and spiritual renewal.

But as the year winds down, there’s no better moment to pause, reflect, and rediscover meaning. Sometimes, that pause begins with something as simple, and as powerful, as a book.

To that end, we turned to three of our friends from different religious traditions and asked them to recommend titles that nourish the spirit, and may bring readers closer to God. Rabbi David Wolpe, Timothy Cardinal Dolan, and Eboo Patel, the Muslim founder of Interfaith America, made some wonderful—and surprising—selections. Together, they form a rich reading list for 2026. Enjoy! —The Editors

Here are a handful of the eleven books they’re pressing upon us this Christmas, saying that they’ll “bring us closer to God.”

The Sabbath (1951) by Abraham Joshua Heschel

From a master theologian and an exquisitely gifted writer (working in English, a language he only learned as an adult) comes a tone poem that explores the place of time and space in our lives. Heschel helps us understand the ways each day can be sanctified.

—DW

Life of Christ (1958) by Fulton J. Sheen

One of the great evangelical Catholics of modern times, Sheen here vividly retells the “greatest story ever told.” There is no better book for those seeking to discover the message of Jesus Christ.

Encountering God: A Spiritual Journey from Bozeman to Banaras (1993) by Diana L. Eck

The book that inspired my commitment to interfaith work. Eck’s memoir of deepening her Christian faith by engaging with Hindus on her various visits to India demonstrates the importance of religious pluralism.

—Eboo Patel

Here’s a must-read if you seek beauty and mercy:

Muhammad, the World-Changer: An Intimate Portrait(2021) by Mohamad Jebara

Of the many works I have read on the Prophet Muhammad and Islam, this is the most moving. I can think of no better book for making the beauty and mercy that are central to Islam accessible to American readers.

—EP

Shoot me now. . .  I am reading Matthew’s new biography of Crick, which is terrific. Crick had no truck at all with religion, and refused an appointment as a fellow at a Cambridge University college because it wanted to build a chapel for worship.

Another headline:

This is the story of Martin Shaw, a writer who went into the woods seeking to fill that hole in his heart. And then, just like Francis Collins saw a frozen waterfall that turned him to Jesus, Shaw saw a falling star. That astronomical phenomenon somehow made him realize and accept the whole truth of the Christian story:

The falling star, the nine words, now the dreams. With my 50th year now only days away, I submitted to the reality of what now seemed screamingly apparent. God, the Ancient of Days, was announcing himself. For decades, myths had told me all about life, but this myth, crashing like that January arrow into human time, told me how to live that life.

On October 21, 2021, I became a Christian. Or, more likely, I realized I was a Christian. Just not a very good one. A little out of focus. Praying on a hill doesn’t make you a Christian, and I wouldn’t have thought myself as one during the vigil. But on that October evening, I finally verbalized quite what had happened.

. . . I’ve kept my attention on the particular mysteries of the Christian tradition rather than taking an endless à la carte approach to myth. What you lose in variety, you gain in absorption. “Falling into the mind of Christ” is how the Apostle Paul would put it. Life is generally much quieter now. I watch the skies hopefully, but I suspect I’ve had my Bethlehem moment.

Amen, ladies and gentlement, brothers and sisters, friends and comrades.

*Matthew says that Bob Dylan of all people, born a Jew, has released a Christmas album.  And he did—in 2009. This is apparently one of the songs on it, with a lively polka beat. “Must Be Santa” was not written by Dylan, but by Hal Moore and Bill Fredericks.

From Wikipedia:

In November 2009, Bob Dylan released a version of the song in a polka-meets-klezmer style (based on an arrangement by Brave Combo, whose version he had played on Theme Time Radio Hour) for his Christmas album, Christmas in the Heart. The New York Daily News described Dylan’s version as such: “It’s sort of unclear if Dylan (…) was aiming to celebrate the holiday, or gently poke fun at the music’s Norman Rockwell-esque simplicity”.[6] Following Brave Combo’s lead, the lyrics in Dylan’s version mix in the names of several United States presidents with a list of Santa’s reindeer (e.g., “Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen / Carter, Reagan, Bush, and Clinton”). Eleven years after its release, “Must Be Santa” placed 24th in a Rolling Stone article about the “25 Best Bob Dylan Songs of the 21st Century” where critic Amanda Martoccio called the song “zany” and the “centerpiece” of Christmas in the Heart.

Nash Edgerton directed an official music video for “Must Be Santa”, described as “bonkers” by Martoccio, in which Dylan lip synchs the song at a raucous Christmas house party with other holiday revelers. Count Smokula makes an unexpected appearance as an accordion player, miming the accordion part that David Hidalgo played on the actual recording. As of Christmas 2024, the video had been viewed over 8 million times on YouTube, significantly more times than the next most popular versions of the song (i.e., those recorded by Mitch Miller, Raffi and Brave Combo). “Must Be Santa” was also released as a music video ecard and a 7″ single, the b-side of which is a recording of Dylan reading ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas that was first broadcast on Theme Time Radio Hour

I have to say that this is better than most latter-day Dylan songs. He appears in a bowler hat and wig throughout the video, and, at the end, in s Santa hat.

Meanwhile in Dobrzyn,  Hili is recalibrating

Andrzej: Are you asleep?
Hili: Nope, I’m rescheduling every problem for next year.

In Polish:

Ja: Śpisz?
Hili: Nie, odkładam wszystkie problemy na przyszły rok.

Three from CinEmma:

From Jesus of the Day:

From Now That’s Wild:

Screenshot

From Larry the Cat; a post and a video (h/t Simon)

. . . and a video:

From Matthew: Victorian Christmas cards. They don’t make ’em like this any more!

Merry Christmas 🎄✨

— Natalia Jagielska (娜塔莉) (@nataliajagielska.bsky.social) 2025-12-24T16:48:31.979Z

From Rawan Osman; just as predicted by Hili:

Speaking of that, here’s a relevant sketch from that Israeli comedy show (I can’t remember its name).

J. K. Rowling’s charm bracelet (shown below) is apparently of significance to her. (“Strike” is a series of crime novels written by Rowling under her pen name. I haven’t read any of them.)

The bracelet. You figure it out:

From Ricky Gervais:

The Obamas’ Christmas-card photo. Lovely family, but Barack should lose the bow tie:

. . . and Christmas wishes from the beleaguered President Zelensky:

 

5 thoughts on “Hili dialogue: Holiday edition”

  1. A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
    The tools of conquest do not necessarily come with bombs, and explosions, and fallout. There are weapons that are simply thoughts, attitudes, prejudices, to be found only in the minds of men. For the record, prejudices can kill and suspicion can destroy; and a thoughtless, frightened search for a scapegoat has a fallout all of its own for the children, and the children yet unborn. -Rod Serling, writer of the science fiction TV series “The Twilight Zone” (25 Dec 1924-1975)

    Reply

  2. A happy first day of Coynezaa (traditional spelling) to all!

    Thank you for the sixteen years of WEIT website, Professor…cannot believe it has been 16 years since the book was published.

    I also cannot believe TFP is serious….seems more like The Onion. Glad I unsubscribed when I did. This is ridiculous: three religions? Like they span belief space. What about atheism? Should not it be represented in TFP’s canonical list?

    Lastly, I look forward to unwrapping and cracking open “Crick” here around mid-afternoon myself, when I anticipate that a wife, child or grandchild will gift a copy to me.

    Reply

  3. Hey awesome pic!

    Merry Christmas and Happy Coynezaa to all, and to all a good night!

    Was the ‘K’ deliberate or a typo? Also – I sent the mejdool dates – the return address might have been confusing – enjoy!

    I also just got CRICK – a page-turner! Also the spine looks awesome on the shelf!

    🧬🎶🎶🎄

    Reply

  4. If there’s any doubt that the Free Press is going way soft on faith, doubtlessly via orders from above,

    Ummm – how far above?😉
    Happy Coynezaa!

    Reply

  5. I think you are supposed to say that Jesus was a Palestinian man who was killed by the Jews to make the antisemitism even more explicit.

    Reply

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