Welcome to the Merry Christmas edition of the Friday Five!
Enjoy the video above with the holiday classic "Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer."
You may not be aware that there's a religion angle (isn't there always?) on the unfortunate tragedy with Grandma. According to veteran religion writer Bob Smietana, the reindeer wrote an apology. And Smietana penned a song about it.
By all means, listen to the reindeer's lament.
Back to the "Five":
1. Religion story of the week: Charlotte Observer religion writer Tim Funk interviews Jessica Hahn, the woman at the center of disgraced televangelist Jim Bakker's fall 30 years ago. I commented on Funk's intriguing story in a GetReligion post earlier this week.
Bakker trivia and plug at the same time! Who can name the GetReligionista who took the original Charlotte newsroom anonymous call on this topic? It included this statement: "Just remember this name -- Jessica Hahn."
2. Most popular GetReligion post: My analysis titled "Trump + Gillibrand + faith: 'Why is religion only talked about when reporters profile Republicans?'" was our No. 1 post of the week. My thanks to Guthrie Graves-Fitzsimmons for asking the question that sparked the post and to former GetReligion contributor Mollie Hemingway (among others), who shared it on social media.
3. Guilt folder fodder (and more): Let's go with "and more" and call your attention to news from across the pond: The Guardian reports that the BBC plans "to increase religion coverage to better represent all faiths." The decision follows a year-long review that found people of all faiths were "often absent, poorly presented or satirised." (Yes, that's apparently how the Brits spell "satirized.")
4. Shameless plug: Hat tip to GetReligion editor Terry Mattingly, who passed along this "Road maps for the soul" piece by former GetReligion contributor Dawn Eden Goldstein. Hint: It involves a new collection that "shines a light on when Bob Dylan found Jesus -- and why it still matters."
5. Final thought: Please keep a grumpy friend of this blog in your prayers. The Church Curmudgeon, whom we've mentioned before, is facing difficult choices when it comes to financial matters, as you can tell in the above tweet.
Hang in there, you cranky old coot!
Meanwhile, we'll look forward to seeing you back here in this same space next week. If you have recommendations for any of the items in our Friday Five, by all means, leave a comment or tweet us at @GetReligion.