Holiday Wishes To All

 This post marks a pause until the the New Year. I'll be spending time with family in happy gatherings and for one memorial that will be more poignant and reflective. That contrast in emotions is not unusual at holiday times. Sadness and struggle frequently intertwine themselves with special occasions, offering options to wallow or lean into those two sides of our very human lives. Last year at this time my own life was bound up with personal issues that threatened to overwhelm my physical and emotional health, but there were still so many moments of positivity- in family, friends, traditions, and unexpected joys.

One such experience was reading and reviewing a book inspired by actual events in one small community. RED AND GREEN AND YELLOW AND BLUE, from the talents of Lee Wind and Paul O. Zelinsky. I reviewed it HERE. 

Everything I love in picture books made me a fan of this offering, but it also touched me at a deeply personal level. This seems to be a story about Hanukkah, and I am not Jewish. Yet it is so much more and was exactly what I needed to read at the time. Like the very best of picture books (any books?) it offers a network of emotional and conceptual connections to individual lives,  struggles, and insights. From a societal perspective, It is as timely now (or more so) as it was last  year.

I urge everyone to take a few minutes with this book,and  with other favorites. Share stories that celebrate finding light out of darkness, as Hanukkah and Christmas both do. Beyond the specifics of either classic story, the central theme of both is that life presents us with dark times, with threats, with struggles, or even chronic worries. These mid-winter, long-dark-days celebration dates are no accident. This is the season of hunkering down, right? But both traditions focus on the message of promise, of better times, of strength in our collective appreciation of light and hope. They celebrate gathering to support that light nana hope- beyond our nuclear families, within a broader community, and reaching out to humanity as a whole.

My year has resolved in many positive ways, leaving me in much better place this season. I celebrate the ways small glimmers of light led me forward from a year ago into today. I wish for all of you the blessings of good (or improving) health, of caring friends and family, of opportunities to gather together to celebrate those blessings. May you find your lights and share them with everyone you meet.