I have been so unusually busy since Thanksgiving that only the other day I got the Christmas decorations up. Well, last weekend I did throw lights on the old yews guarding our front door and am reveling in our new remote control 3-outlet Christmas light switch (on sale cheap at Target). And thank goodness for the giant pointsettia, glowing in a corner, that my Japanese women’s group gave me as an outgoing president gift. The busyness and a death in the family have kept the Christmas spirit at bay. These are not uncommon scenarios at holiday times, and nowadays we have joblessness and frightening money woes gnawing at many homes. What to do when holiday songs don’t cheer us up? Well, don’t throw out Christmas (or Hannukah or Kwanzaa)!

Suzan Colon, author of Cherries in Winter: My Family’s Recipe for Hope in Hard Times, tells a story (One Family’s Secret to Surviving the Recession) of how in the midst of winter there is more reason than ever to hold on to firm traditions. Shopping and excitement may take a back seat, but there’s always time for A Charlie Brown Christmas, a special church service, baking one batch of simple cookies – and never, never think about ditching the Christmas tree!

PS: Passing by the Optimist’s tree lot today I saw all trees were 50% off!

Linda Austin
“Cherry Blossoms in Twilight”
http://www.moonbridgebooks.com