It’s the Love and Relationships That Endure

It’s hard not to love the beauty of the holidays — the twinkling lights, the excitement of shopping for and getting gifts, baking and eating cookies, sharing a great meal, and driving through different neighborhoods to see decorated homes.

Growing up in New York, our family had a menorah, which seemed to pale in comparison to a Christmas tree. So, I always looked forward to being invited to visit friends who did have a wonderfully decorated tree with a set of toy trains riding around it. I also loved the annual Macy’s magical window display, watching people ice-skate at Rockefeller Center, eating roasted chestnuts, and seeing a movie at Radio City Music Hall.

After marrying someone who did celebrate Christmas, I was thrilled to finally be able to decorate my own tree and also light the menorah. Our tree decorations included dreidels along with traditional and hand-made ornaments, some new and some passed down for generations. Embracing it all, I have found that there is nothing quite as beautiful and peaceful as sitting in a warm and cozy room gazing at a beautiful Christmas tree.

As the years have passed, I have come to appreciate the many ways that people choose to celebrate the season in the context of their own traditions. I’ve also come to realize that, beyond all of those external adornments that eventually get stored away, it is the love and relationships we cultivate with one another that makes all the difference, because everything else is so transitory.

However you choose to celebrate the season, I wish you peace, love, health, and happiness, and the knowledge that we are all much more alike than different.