by Norman Halls, contributor
The holiday season is the period of time from Thanksgiving until New Year, including such festivals as Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa. This is a very festive time of the year with five weeks after Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day. As we find many different traditions and cultures throughout the world in our daily existing.
As we all know, it’s party season too. Although alcoholic beverages and social attitudes toward drinking vary around the world, excess alcohol consumption is not the best idea for anyone. Please limit yourself and don’t over drink. Alcohol and its effects have been present in societies throughout history. Drinking is documented in the Hebrew and Christian Bibles, in the Qur’an, in art history, in Greek and Roman literature as old as Homer, and in Confucius’s Analects. My ancestors, the Vikings, really knew how to drink. Please don’t follow their thinking.
Thanksgiving brings family and friends together and talks about old times and what’s our future going to look like. Everyone has an opinion and they usually let the “experts” tell us. But, then out of the blue a young person tells us what they think. They will really tell us, what is going to be true. People generally don’t take advice, even good advice. As we know, young people have all kinds of technology at their finger tips. They read what is reported and draw an opinion of what is really happening.
Thanksgiving is a chance for families to gather together, to feast and to enjoy being with one another. But the day can also be a meaningful time to reflect on our blessings and remember how thankful we are. Many families have special traditions they use to show gratitude to each other by bring various kinds of dishes, the gathering of many Thanksgiving celebrations brings many people from all kinds of backgrounds. We have many thankful traditions in this country. Many of the traditions are brought here by our ancestors; it could be a favorite recipe or a prayer.
Our country has been “the melting pot” where all nations and traditions blend together. Indeed, our Christmas celebrations would indicate just that. In the coming weeks, why not focus on the qualities of these traditions we share? The Christmas season always seemed a much more exciting time of the year. Traditionally, it has nothing to do with gift-giving or fancy decorations. Many of us find Christmas awkward, painful, and a minefield of nagging, badly chosen presents, ancient family feuds, and comments about your weight. Unfortunately, for some reason, being around our families tends to bring out the worst in all of us.
Christmas is when we come together to converse with family. Regardless of age, it transports us back to our childhood: tinsel on the tree, stockings hung by the fireplace, colorful packages needing to be shaken, and traditional celebrations with faithful friends and relatives. Christmas is magical. Christmas Eve is only half a normal day. People go about their daily routines, go to work, and finish their shopping. Church bells ring, this starts the first Church service for Christmas.
As we celebrate this holiday season let us not forget those who protect us. “History has taught us over and over again that freedom is not free. When push comes to shove, the ultimate protectors of freedom and liberty are the brave men and women in our armed forces. Throughout our history, they’ve answered the call in bravery and sacrifice”. By Tim Pawlenty
Happy holidays, everybody!
