Happy holidays

The holiday season is upon us. Hopefully, you are reading this during a much-deserved break. Maybe you’re curled up in an armchair with a blanket, a dog at your feet or a small child asleep nearby. Maybe you’re at the kitchen table, sipping something warm, wearing a new pair of slippers.

Whether you celebrate Christmas or not, there is a sort of magic to this time of year (even if this year is unnervingly warm, with rain showers in place of snow storms and puddles where ice should be).

The dim, cloudy days and the longest nights of the year are interrupted by twinkling lights on trees and bushes and buildings. Omnipresent Christmas carols permeate your consciousness, forcing you into humming jolly tunes like Jingle Bell Rock and singing along to nostalgic tunes like I’ll be Home for Christmas.

There’s the mad rush for gifts, the Christmas parties, the sappy holiday movies. There are the special foods, like pannetone and fruitcake, which pop up for the season and then are gone for another year. There are reminders everywhere that Santa Claus is on his way.

There seems to be universality to winter solstice celebrations. Everyone wants to celebrate lights when there is so much darkness.

But there are those who don’t celebrate. Some choose not to. Some can’t afford to. Some don’t have family nearby. To them, the magic of the holidays can feel hollow, or leave a sting.

If you have the money to spend on gifts but want to do something a little more meaningful, why not a donation in the name of your giftees to a local not-for-profit organization? The first months of the year are lean ones for the food banks, for example, and they could use the extra funds. That’s a thought that counts.

With stores closed Christmas Day, there are a few options to prevent the holidays from feeling lonely. A few churches are offering meals and services, including the United Church in Picton. It might be worth inviting some friends and neighbours over to join in the family celebrations.

Someone who is looking for a bit of company at Christmas could also volunteer at the Loyalist Humane Society, where the hundreds of cats being housed still need a human to feed and pet and brush them.

This Christmas—let’s hope it’s not a trend—the warm weather and sunshine will mean a different way to celebrate and maybe appreciate being alone. The County is full of places to sit outside and read, write or reflect on a year gone by and a new, fresh one to come.

Or, of course, you could just curl up on a sofa or an armchair with the Times and read. There’s nothing wrong with that.

So whatever you’re doing to celebrate some welldeserved time off or just to punctuate the winter solstice, happy holidays. See you in 2016.

mihal@mihalzada.com