Merry Christmas and ...

Merry Christmas and ...

’Tis the season.

The season of Christmas, which we acknowledge by tradition with the scripture above.

It is also the season of Hanukkah, the Jewish Festival of Lights commemorating the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem two centuries before there was a reason to mark Christmas.

And it is the season of Kwanzaa, a week-long holiday of African-American heritage that is about 40 years old, but traces its roots to ancient African principles and more modern U.S. politics.

The American Christmas has long been a rich and noisy mix of joyful religious celebration and unbridled commercialism, although the level of commerce is subject to the laws of economics.

What does it all mean?

Every year at this time there is a certain amount of hand wringing that the holidays should be less commercial and focused more on the family. Layoffs, fear of layoffs, tight credit and what can only be called a national sense of foreboding are making this a restrained Christmas for many.

Still, it is hardly the minimalist event the Puritans envisioned, and vainly sought to enforce. It is infused with pagan customs rooted in Northern Europe and traditions invented by the Victorians and embellished in the modern era.

Today’s debate about how the holiday should be marked is nothing new. Over the centuries Christians have disagreed dramatically over the proper observation of the day.

Regardless of religious inclinations — or even lack thereof — most people will observe the day with family and friends, which is a good thing.

The harsh reality of a tighter economy may reduce the number of gifts being shared, but it cannot lessen the amount of love shared. It may even enhance it.

Common to all of the observations — religious and secular — at this time of year are the themes of hope, love and peace and man’s ability to gather strength from something greater than himself in what is, astrologically, the darkest of days.

In that spirit, we offer our wish for the happiest of holidays and a very merry Christmas to all.