[UPDATE] I heard from Lighthouse & the Whaler on this post, clarifying some points that were not as clearly expressed in the article as they should have been. I’m thankful that they reached out and clarified this show as not being exclusively religious, and it’s focus to be around giving and love. Can’t argue with that… I’ll try to attend this show tonight if I can.
I have to say, a night of Christmas music by some up and coming (and great) local bands sounded like a lot of fun and I put it on my calendar to go - until I read this article on cleveland.com.
"Not just any Christmas songs, though. You won't hear any 'Jingle Bells' or 'Frosty the Snowman' tunes here.
'It will be also traditional songs that involve the biblical version of Christmas,' says LoPresti. 'We [performers] all have the same beliefs on Christmas, we were brought up to believe in the Bible story, and it's important for us to stay true to it.'
So I guess it’s that, paired with:
Instead of just lamenting the loss of attention to the season's religious roots, they booked a concert to celebrate the true meaning of Christmas
I think today there is plenty of meaning and value in Christmas that is not religious… I believe that if you’re not a Christian - that you can still enjoy and rejoice in the Holidays - but these attempts to reclaim “true” meaning of Christmas by reducing and eliminating non-Christian expressions of the holiday feels exclusionary and uncomfortable. I’ll pass on this show.