The National Memo: The Simple, Clear, And Still Radical Meaning Of The Christmas Story

The story of Christmas is not a political parable but an allegory of light brought into a dark and suffering world, on a date that coincides not accidentally with the winter solstice. Its newborn prophet is a harbinger of divine love for all, most emphatically including the sinners, the impious, the unclean, the unaccepted, the foreigner, the stranger, and the impoverished.

I have this thing about Christmas. I actually try hard every year to celebrate it. For me, that often means I call it “Incarnation Day” instead of Christmas. It means that we actually do “stockings” in our house on St Nicolaus Day (Dec 6) instead of the 25th. It means while we have a traditional Christmas dinner, while we dine we talk about poverty, not gifts. We talk about presence, not presents.

Incarnation Day for me, means welcoming the stranger — not assigning them a scarlet letter, or a star on their jackets, or a special ID card based on their religion.

Source: The National Memo

Author: Matt Cromwell

I help product businesses turn customer insight into better experiences that keep people renewing year after year. I co-founded GiveWP, growing it into the leading online donations platform for WordPress. After its acquisition by StellarWP, I became Senior Director of Customer Experience, scaling those same data-driven systems across flagship brands like LearnDash, KadenceWP, and The Events Calendar. Beyond my formal roles, I co-host WP Product Talk, a weekly show where WordPress founders share what works (and what doesn’t) in growing sustainable products. I’ve also spoken at WordCamps and CloudFest EU, helping teams connect customer experience with product strategy so every decision moves the business forward. Over a decade in customer experience and product growth, my focus hasn’t changed: connect what customers feel with how teams build — and turn that alignment into meaningful, measurable growth. View all posts by Matt Cromwell