2012-12-03
Explanation
This comic explores the idea that the "miracle of Christmas" is how normally undesirable foods are magically transmuted into deliciousness during the holiday season. A child in a Sunday school setting tells a priest that this is the true miracle of Christmas, then provides several examples in a "Not Christmas" vs. "Christmas" format: peppermints that nobody wants with receipts become beloved candy canes; cheap dollar-store chocolate that "tastes like wax and sadness" becomes exciting advent calendar chocolate; and a disgusting cocktail with a raw egg cracked in it becomes delicious eggnog.
When the priest asks what any of this has to do with Jesus, the child delivers the theological punchline: "Turning butter and rum into tastiness is proof of transubstantiation." Transubstantiation is the Catholic doctrine that bread and wine literally become the body and blood of Christ during the Eucharist. The child is cleverly (and blasphemously) arguing that the seasonal transformation of gross foods into holiday treats is the same kind of miraculous substance-change, thus proving the doctrine. The priest, rather than being offended, awards the child a "gold star" for the creative theological argument.
The votey shows a drawing of fruitcake with the label "Impervious to Miracles," serving as the one exception to the rule -- even the magic of Christmas cannot make fruitcake taste good. This is a classic joke about fruitcake being universally despised despite being a traditional holiday food.