Celebrating The Season

It's a rare year when Christmas and the beginning of Hannukah come on the same day, but December 25, 2005 will bring billions of people across the world together in peace and harmony in the celebration of their respective holidays.
The holiday season is always a festive time. A time for gathering with friends and family. A time of gift-giving, a time of reflection on the year passed as a new calendar awaits.
Certainly, 2005 was a hard one for many people. Natural disasters and man-made wars wreaked havoc from our shores to countries thousands of miles away. No one was safe. But we all endured. We all did what we could to help. It was not a year to count our differences, but one for us all to come together.
And so it is ironic that it is this year that the calendar brings together those of the Christian and Jewish faiths and dictates that as the wrapping paper under Christmas trees is still being swept up, the Festival of Lights will begin.
And that brings us to another topic that is being hotly debated this season and that is, at its core, a very silly argument for people to spend one minute on. Those people who get all caught up in the argument over whether an evergreen tree with lights and a star on top is a &#8220Christmas” tree or a &#8220holiday” tree are missing the point of the whole season. Simply wish your neighbor a &#8220Happy Holidays” and let them call their tree or menorah or candles or lights on their home whatever they wish to call them. Just as millions across the world watch the lighting of the Christmas tree in Rockefeller Center and enjoy that moment, thousands will gather this December in neighborhoods like Bayside or Kew Gardens Hills or Forest Hills to share the lighting of a community menorah.
They are each wonderful traditions in their own right and just because one or the other is not of your particular faith, there is no reason to begrudge others from enjoying it or from you joining that celebration in solidarity with your neighbor. Each person is entitled to express their religious beliefs in his or her own way. Respect that, don't impose your celebration on others and let everyone enjoy these special days. There is so much else to worry about in the world and so many more important public debates to have. These are the holidays! Relax, share a moment with a loved one and celebrate the spirit of the season.
As Starbucks' slogan says, &#8220It's only once a year.”