Our 5 Heartfelt Wishes for You in This Season to Celebrate!
This is the season to celebrate with merriment and cheer. There’s no season quite like this one, when there are more than a dozen joyous celebrations by many different faiths. While they celebrate different events or important figures, they share many of the same types of rituals – gathering together with family and friends, praying, exchanging gifts, offering thanks, and food. Perhaps because the nights are long and the days are short, they also tend to include lights and festive decorations.
I’m mindful that approximately one in five Americans enjoys a different faith from Christianity. We are undoubtedly the most culturally, ethnically, and religiously diverse country in the world, filled with a rich tapestry of customs that open the door for a better understanding of and appreciation for each other.
You might celebrate one of these:
Hindu Diwali
The Feast of St. Nicholas that gave rise to Santa Claus
Jewish Chanukah
Buddhist Bodhi Day
Winter Solstice or Yuletide
All or some of the five or so Christian holidays including Christmas
Kwanzaa and its 7 strengths of African culture
Japanese New Year’s Eve Ōmisoka
Indian Lohri
Chinese New Year
Whether you observe one of these or another, their essence is the opportunity to share our personal presence and mutual respect.
Our Holiday Wishes for You
To paraphrase the song, “From a Distance,” the world looks beautiful, we all have enough, and we all live in harmony.
If only that were true up close. We all can do our part to resolve the world’s problems. Every bit we do helps someone.
Here are our holiday wishes for you and your family.
We wish for you to:
Foster connections among neighbors and friends.
Radiate warmth in recognition that we are all one family called humanity.
Spread feelings of kindness, love, togetherness, and generosity.
Light a positive path toward the new year.
And perhaps, most importantly:
Speak out against darkness that is steeped in fear, narcissism, and falsehoods, and ensure it does not strengthen its grasp on us. As Maya Angelou counsels:
“Develop enough courage so that you can stand up for yourself, and then stand up for somebody else.”
~ Maya Angelou
Finally, we wish for you a wholesome, healthful, and happy end to 2023 and all the best in 2024. We are thankful for you.
Happy Holidays, Everyone!
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