A Christmas Wish for 2011

When I look back at the Christmas holidays I have experienced - I see a progression from childhood excitement, to teenage apathy, to young adult enthusiasm, through to my current midlife contentment. I did not grow up in a particularly religious home. My parents had devout mothers, but other than a brief flirtation at church membership, the habit of organized religion just never took root in their hearts. As such, in our home, Christmas was a secular, American celebration complete with trees, decorations, cooking, baking, and an abundance of gifts from Santa.

In my post-Santa adulthood, the holidays have come to be a time to reconnect with family that I see only occasionally. And, more recently the holidays have become a time to share food and drink with dear friends, a time to reach out to friends in far away places, and a time to remember those no longer among us who made the holidays memorable with their smiles and their love. And, I have to admit, even today as I cling to the last days of my 48th year, when I drive by a home that brightens the night with twinkling lights and decorations, both tacky and tasteful, I flash back to that excited Christmas morning feeling of eager anticipation. There is something special about this time of year, even for we secular deists.

So, no matter how you choose to celebrate, whether with the family into which you were born or the family you have created for yourself along the way, I wish you and yours a very merry Christmas, a happy Hanukkah, a wonderful winter solstice, a satiating Saturnalia, and a very happy new year. Regardless of your tradition, make it memorable because in the end, our memories are all we get to take with us.

Peace and Love
Glenn