The “busy time” of the year is upon us. Soon we will have family and friends at our homes or travel to theirs. Chanukah has already begun with the lighting of the Menorah. Most Christians have their trees lit and outside decorations hung. Kwanzaa will begin on December 26th. Yes, it’s a time for community, carols, family celebrations and gift giving.
It is also a time of introspection and reflection. A time to take stock in what the past year has brought and what the New Year will hold in store. Memories play an important part during the holiday season – memories of when you were a child, a young parent or, now, a grandparent. Incidents from a particular Christmas Eve or Christmas Day come from the recesses of our minds bringing a bit of warmth, gladness and sometimes a longing sadness.
Some memories of long-ago meals or gatherings still make me smile. I have to watch at least one movie version of Dickens’ Christmas Carol so that the seasonal spirit descends. I want to hear a few religious carols and “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.” Though long gone; Frank, Bing, Perry and Nat need to still be crooning for Christmas to be Christmas.
I still read Clement Moore’s “The Night Before Christmas” at dinner on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day as our grown children and their significant others provide the sound effects. Perhaps when I read it this year our infant granddaughter Margot will begin to embrace this family tradition.
Then there is the New Year’s Eve celebration. For many years when we lived in Connecticut, a group of my high school buddies, their spouses and kids (when they were still around) would come to our house and we would have a many-course dinner with paired wines. The house was a great old New England Victorian built in the 1850s, very much suited to celebrating, especially when we had a bit of snow. Now, for the past couple of years, we join a couple and celebrate at their club.
All too rapidly the holiday goes by and we must face the New Year. When I was up north I always thought of January as the beginning of winter. For much of November and the entirety of December, I was enmeshed in preparing or celebrating. In Florida after New Year’s, I anticipate the traffic being a bit worse and the restaurants more filled.
So, for 2018, I want to wish everyone a happy and a safe year. What the coming months will bring is anyone’s guess. Since it is still a fortnight away, we can think about the future as it becomes the present. I want to enjoy every moment of the holiday season.
Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah, and a Joyful Kwanzaa to all! I will talk to you in the New Year.