Garrison Keillor objects to many modern trends in the celebration of Christmas, including the number of Christmas songs written by Jewish song writers:
If you don’t believe Jesus was God, OK, go write your own damn “Silent Night” and leave ours alone. This is spiritual piracy and cultural elitism, and we Christians have stood for it long enough. And all those lousy holiday songs by Jewish guys that trash up the malls every year, Rudolph and the chestnuts and the rest of that dreck. Did one of our guys write “Grab your loafers, come along if you wanna, and we’ll blow that shofar for Rosh Hashanah“? No, we didn’t.
Christmas is a Christian holiday – if you’re not in the club, then buzz off. Celebrate Yule instead or dance around in druid robes for the solstice. Go light a big log, go wassailing and falalaing until you fall down, eat figgy pudding until you puke, but don’t mess with the Messiah.
What, you mean that Christmas isn’t about getting Chinese carry-outs and watching White Christmas with all its Irving Berlin music? What if Jesus wrote a Christmas song? Are Jews getting upset because Orrin Hatch wrote a Hanukkah Song:
Eight Days of Hanukkah from Tablet Magazine on Vimeo.
If he objects to Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, written by Jewish song writer Johnny Marks, what would he think of the Yiddish version? Keillor doesn’t have any qualms about borrowing a little Yiddish as he refers to “the rest of that dreck.”
I imagine he’d really hate Nine Lessons and Carols for Godless People.
I’m happy to have my name publisned for t his comment. Keillor, who fancies himself a kind of man of the people has just managed to sink into the hold of the KKK. George Lincoln Rockwell simply because folks of that ilk will just love his comments about Jews writing Christmas songs. Wonder what he thinks of Irving Berlin writing God Bless America or the quote on the Statue of Liberty by a Jewish poet.
I will do my best to help minimize Keillor’s listening audience and hope sincerely he will have ever fewer Prairie Home Companions with whom to share his foolish thinking.
I heard the show, and it was obvious Garrison was joking. It doesn’t say anything positive about you that you didn’t see that.
This isn’t about a show where he was joking. This is in response to an op-ed he was writing. He was not joking in the op-ed.
I am at a loss to understand the furor over Garrison Keillor’s Chirstmas piece which was clearly satire. I’m happy to note Keillor’s satirical chops are still mostly intact after the 30 years I’ve heard and read him, even considering his recent stroke. In the past I’ve also been inspired by his moving renditions of spiritual music. After you have experienced more of his work, it would be difficult for me to imagine your arriving at negative conclusions.
Maybe he intended it as satire, but if so he didn’t do a good job considering the number of publications, blogs, and commenters where the article where it was published which did not see it as satire. Good satire requires more than just writing as if you were advocating opposing views to provide meaningful satire.
I have been listening the Keillor for well over two decades, and considered myself a huge fan. I have been to live performances of PHC, read his books, and regularly listen to Writer’s Almanac and download his podcasts. I have read and re-read this column, and I just don’t see the satire. Maybe you can point it out. All I see is a bitter rant.
For Robertb40: We all live by our own words and deeds. If Keillor’s insulting remarks were a result of a stroke, it is sad but still offensive and probably showed the real thinking of the man. If it was meant to be satire, think how it might have sounded from Limbaugh who might then say he was only kidding.
No deal on this one.
After all the defense of Keilor’s tasteless commentary, knowing it had created such a reaction, he still has yet to suggest he was either kidding or sensitive to what he had done and excused himself. Suppose even for a moment, such insulting comments had been made in reverse. Keilor is simply a well kmown inexcusable bore.