It is once again that time of
the year. I am not sure why, but this is
the time of year we are supposed to be jolly, put on a happy face, and
celebrate. For 11 months, we work hard
for this time of year. Everyone goes on
vacation, runs to various parties and wear those crazy sweaters. Black Friday, Cyber Monday and other selling
catch phrases invented for this time of year have the mothballs dusted off of
them and are paraded in front of the masses hungry with excitement for this
time of year.
I look at my calendar and my
time is pretty full for the rest of this year.
Work still has to be done, the synagogue where I am president still has
activities and meetings, food still has to be put on the table…you get the
picture. Believe me, I get the enjoyment
of holidays, days off and extra family time – those days are listed on the
calendar as well as everything else.
From my point of view, I would rather maintain that happy spirit
throughout the year instead of saving for a single month.
“…gonna find out if your
naughty or nice…”
Pretend it is January 1st
and the entire year lies before you. You
close your eyes, take a deep breath and let your mind drift off into the year
ahead. The images begin to come to you
in a flash – you see the things that you want to accomplish, you have a vague
understanding of how you are going to get there, and then you open your
eyes. I am pretty sure that at this
point, you know if you will be naughty or nice.
15 or 20 days before a jolly being descends with a bag of gifts, the
ledgers of life have already recorded you a naughty or nice quotient for the
year.
“I’m
dreaming of a White Christmas…”
I am 57 and believe it or not,
I do not look forward to having inches of snow dumped on me in December or any
other time of the month. Many years ago,
we had the fortunate of taking a family trip to Australia. We landed in Brisbane on Boxer Day – it was
110 degrees, the thought of dressing up in a beard and a heavy red winter
outfit was far from the minds where we landed.
The person that wrote the classic song, White Christmas (Irving Berlin),
definitely lived in the northern hemisphere.
I realize that the image of Santa Claus as a large, jolly person coming
to every house from the North Pole wearing heavy winter red has become global. While flying over the equator I hope he has a
good A/C onboard his sled.
OK, so there are plenty of
contradictions when it comes to the Holiday season. And, yes, it is fun to have various
celebrations for various reasons. Of
course, everyone is nice (it would be even better if this was year-round). I plan to enjoy the holidays as much as the
next person. Be safe, be smart in your
decision, remember that the world does not stop at this time of year (as some might
think) and enjoy. “Christmas comes but
once a year,” sang the great B.B. King.
As he continues later in the song, “Let the good times roll.” Enjoy your Holidays, however you celebrate!
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