A cartoon from a few years ago showed a woman saying to her husband, “Good grief, Henry. Here’s Christmas at our throats again!”

Amid the preparations for Christmas each year, there always seem to be a few voices like hers, proclaiming a “Bah, humbug!” on the whole business. And if the truth be known, some of us may feel less than excited about Christmas ourselves. The expense, the crowds, the overindulgence, the hurried schedules and all the other trappings of modern Christmas celebrations are enough to make all of us take a jaundiced look at the season.