Thanksgiving, Christmas and Memories

An article that I wrote for our newsletter at my Business Unit
November 26, 2008
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It is that time of the year refered to as the Holidays: the period from Thanksgiving to New Year’s. There are a number of holidays celebrated during this time. These include Thanksgiving, Christmas, Eid al-Adha, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and New Year’s Day. Some of these are celebrated by larger sections of our population than others but each serves a purpose to its followers.
Thankfulness or gratitude is an attitude that serves us well to adopt. We have much to be thankful for, not the least of which is to be living in this great country. The lifestyle and opportunities that is available to even the least privileged in the United States is a significant improvement over that in most other parts of the world. We can be thankful for freedom, peaceful elections, health, the comforts of home, our spouses, our children and extended family. Be thankful for delicious holiday meals and time to celebrate with our friends and family. We can also say a prayer of thanks for our active and inactive Service families that represent freedom in this country and all around the world at this time. I encourage you to take some time and list the things that you are thankful for and teach your kids to do the same.
In the Unites States, Christmas, of course, is the largest and most significant celebration of the holidays. Christmas is, first and foremost, a religious celebration. It has also come to include secular celebrations and economic significance for the retail businesses. Christmas has always been one of my favorite times of the year because of the celebrations, the music, the religious significance and the memories that come back each year.
Christmas is also a time to be thankful. Even though we were poor, my mother, with the resources she had, made Christmas special and significant for us. I always remember those times each year. Because I did not know any different, I thought that we had the greatest Christmas times with my seven brothers and sisters and dozens of aunts, uncles and cousins. I did not realize how poor we were since that is the only life I knew. It was also one of the two times a year we got new clothes and shoes. When school started in August we got new school uniforms and schools shoes. At Christmas we got one new set of church clothes and one pair of church shoes. They had to last then entire year. My mother never allowed us to think that we were poor and never complained about what she did not have, at least for me to hear. I now understand how she could be so thankful with so little and still find enough to share with neighbors who had less.
I remember growing up in the Caribbean and having a warm Christmas but wishing I could experience snow and a white Christmas. Now I live in Utah and wish for a warm Christmas again with a palm trees on the beach while watching the white Christmas on the television. This is the second Christmas I do not need a telephone line my mother to say, Merry Christmas. I now tell her in my prayers. The memories are just as real as before.
So in the spirit of the holidays, to all who celebrate Eid, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and those who do not celebrate, I wish you: Happy Holidays!

However for those of us who celebrate Christmas in its original form, there is only one way to say it:
Merry Christmas!