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« Closed Door Stories: Looking Back on God's Love | Main | From the Beyond Boundaries Webcast: Video and Viewing Guide »

October 07, 2011

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I'm a bit comfused by Amy's reply here "I like that the Amish focus on the celebration of Christ's birth instead of the commercialism that surrounds the "English" traditions. "

Does she mean that England commercialises the Christmas tradition? If so, that's quite a puzzling generalisation. If not that, then what "English" traditions are we talking about? The German inspired Christmas Tree perhaps? I'm sure Jesus wasn't English. This strikes me as a very strange thing to say. Can anyone help me out here?

Amish fiction sounds interesting, except for I'd prefer it was written by the Amish, why is it written by outsiders? Do any Amish people read it??

Thanks in advance to anyone who can answer some of my many questions.

@Theblahmunchkin Great questions!

The reference to "English" - The Amish actually refer to Americans and our culture as "English." So while I can't speak for Amy, I will extrapolate from her involvement in the "Reclaiming Christmas" Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/ReclaimingChristmas . When Amy refers to Americans/English being absorbed in the commercial side of Christmas, I believe she's saying that for many Americans, Christmas can become all about busy-ness, money, and collecting loot that you don't really need. Meanwhile, the Amish focus on the world-changing significance of the Christ's incarnation and birth.

I don't know if Amish people read the Amish fiction that gets published! Or if there are writers of Amish fiction who themselves or Amish. I am going to look into that. I do know that Amy Clipston has an Amish friend who assists her with research in her stories.

As for why "outsiders" write about the Amish, my perception is that they find value in the Amish commitments and lifestyle. Amy Clipston shared a little more about this in a previous post on Zondervan Blog, "Going Behind 'A Place of Peace'" http://zndr.vn/fDX5XH .

Here is my review of Falling to Pieces! I really liked the book! http://ilovemy5kids-reviews.blogspot.com/2011/10/falling-to-piecces-by-vannetta-chapman.html

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