Truce

This weekend was all about getting ready. There was some shopping. There was some baking. There was a whole big mess of signatures affixed to the inside o a whole big mess of cards. While I was busy doing all this hustle and bustle, I had several moments to ponder the ongoing War On Christmas.
After all, there I was, inscribing a great many of our Christmas cards to friends of ours who were most certainly not of the Christian persuasion. What could I do? Should I create a separate series of cards for our acquaintances who do not celebrate the nativity of Mister Christ? Happily, the folks who we send our cards to aren't the easily offended type, so that wasn't of great concern. This year's card was pretty secular, but it did mention Christmas by name. I felt pretty safe writing "happy holidays" and sticking with my traditional glib approach to the season.
Then there was the matter of stimulating the economy. I had to pick up a couple of pounds of raw Spanish peanuts and a bag of sugar to make the brittle that I was making, and the impulse to buy just two more strings of lights struck me hard. Tis the season, after all. The idea that "it only comes once a year" seemed like adequate justification.
"It" being Christmas, or the December holiday my family chooses to recognize. Then there was happy little Amir, the kindergartner who took great joy in explaining his family's celebration of Eid al-Adha, religious festival celebrated by Muslims worldwide to commemorate the willingness of Ibrahim to sacrifice his son Ishmael as an act of obedience to God. Well, his focus was primarily on the coconut cake that his mother made, but he was happy to share his culture with me. Why not take the opportunity to chat him up about the joy of Christmas? My guess is that Amir will have plenty more opportunities to nod and smile while the kids in his class sing about reindeer and silent nights, so why push it?
I hope this Gregorian calendar year ends happily for all of you and yours, and whatever rituals or feast you happen to attend brings you a smile or two. The peanut brittle turned out fine, and those extra few lights really made a difference. Happy Holidays.