Starting about February every year I have been known to exclaim “It will be Christmas before you know it!” It’s perhaps an odd utterance since I am Jewish, but Christmas is a touchstone calendar date, one that just about everyone knows when it occurs. With 24 hour media and the advertisements that go along with it, holiday seasons come at us at a fast and furious pace. July 4th barbecues have just been put away when Thanksgiving, and then Christmas, decorations are in the stores. Sure enough, here we are in the midst of the season of celebrations and, if you are like me, you’re once again wondering how we got here so quickly.
It truly is a season of celebrations. Christians celebrate Christmas and the birth of Jesus Christ. Buddhists mark Bodhi Day, the day when Buddha attained enlightenment. Muslims observe the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad. Many people celebrate Yule and the winter solstice. Kwanzaa embraces the cultural heritage of African Americans. Jews celebrate Hanukkah, which commemorates the victory of a small band of people over a much greater army and the miracle of a day’s worth of oil lasting instead for eight days.
The common point throughout all is a time of gratitude, a time to spend with loved ones, to reflect, to reach out to and care for those less fortunate. Good will and good cheer fills the air. Neighbors become family. An otherwise disparate group of people, who happen to live in the same area, come together as a community. Food banks see increased donations. Charities experience an upsurge in gifts. Strangers are welcomed and there is a place at the table for all. The best in people comes out during this celebration time. Then the holidays are over and we move on with our lives. It is harder to keep the feelings of gratitude, of celebration, of connection to our fellow man on a day to day basis. Life is hard, the news is grim, and too many things get in the way. Food bank shelves empty and charities’ accounts drop.
In Judaism it is often said that we have a blessing for everything. It’s true. There is a blessing for washing your hands, for seeing a beautiful sight, for eating a new food. There is even a blessing for using the bathroom. These blessings are a constant reminder to us to be grateful for all that God has given us. To celebrate the smallest things every day, every moment as a blessing from God. They are a reminder to be aware that some may need help in receiving these gifts, these blessings.
This year as you celebrate, in between all the grand traditions and spectacles the holidays hold, the menorah lightings and the tree trimmings, begin to practice celebrating the common, being grateful for the everyday. Celebrate that rare glimpse of the sun we get here in Juneau. Be grateful for finding ripe, but not over-ripe, bananas at the store. Have gratitude for waking up and going to sleep in warmth and safety. Celebrate the sparkle of new snow. When the business of life begins to once again be too much, find that one small thing to celebrate, to be grateful for. With practice, we can extend the celebration, the gratitude past the holidays. With practice we can continue to be our best selves. We can continue to be a community — a community of goodwill.
The Talmud, a central text of Judaism, states: “Do not be daunted by the enormity of the world’s grief. Do justly, now. Love mercy, now. Walk humbly, now. You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to abandon it.”
Happy holidays to everyone. May your celebrations bring you blessings and peace now and throughout the New Year.
• Patricia Turner Custard is a congregant and board member of Congregation Sukkat Shalom. “Living & Growing” is a regular column written by different authors and submitted by local clergy and spiritual leaders.
