My wish for you...

Merry

Everything

Happy

Always

This is a time of year filled with holidays.  Every human culture, throughout space and time, has found a way of celebrating the change of seasons, a change of heart, a turn in history.  In the US, as in much of the world, we are a pluralistic culture.  We have so many things to celebrate.

Hanukkah, Chalica, Kwanza, Yule, Solstice, Christmas, Mawlid Un Nabi, Yalda, New Years, these are just a few.

We diversely celebrate.  

We celebrate in our diversity.

Out of the many - One.

And yet, it's a hard time of year too.   It's these holidays that remind us of those who are missing.  Loved ones who have died, family who are estranged, friends who are far away, we feel our loss.  For those whose family of origin aren't safe or supportive, it is an especially hard time.  Our hearts ache for something that is gone, something perhaps we never even had.

In the end, we are all seeking the same thing; community, comfort in the darkness, the warmth of love, moments of peace, a touch of grace.  

This time of year....
regardless of your faith

Be Kind, 

Be Patient, 

Show Compassion

 I wish you all, all the best.
Always.

Holiday movies and traditions

This is the start of the holiday season for us. It gets crazy and busy until January when it will all suddenly seem to stop and I'll come up for air and celebrate with a Pajama Day spent knitting and vegging out.

This morning we celebrated Dia de los Muertos at church. Tonight was pumpkin carving night at church. Tomorrow is Halloween. Tue is election day and starts the official Thanksgiving season. FLL season ends for us mid November (unless we go to state, which, thank goodness, is unlikely. How bad is it that I'm grateful for that?) Then it's only a weekend until Thanksgiving week, and Christmas is a month after that... Good Grief! I need time to slow down.

A good friend has a family tradition I'd like to adopt. She takes the month of December off as far as homeschooling goes and does baking and crafts all month. She has a pile of Christmas movies the family goes through, and piles of Christmas and winter books to read. Oooh! Doesn't that sound nice?

So now I'm starting a list. Tonight we came up with a few movies, but I'd love your suggestions for movies, videos, books, or anything else that pops into your mind when thinking of Holiday Traditions.

Our half started list:

The Nightmare Before Christmas ( a twofer!)
The Hogfather
Christmas Story
Miracle on 34th Street
It's a Wonderful Like
Holiday Inn
White Christmas
Home Alone (? haven't seen this in a long time - is it appropriate for my youngers?)

What video version of "A Christmas Carol" is best? For audio, last year we enjoyed a recording with Patrick Stewart reading/acting.

and books... I don't even know where to start (after Luke 2 1-20, which my grandfather read to us every Christmas Eve.) Well there is "Snowflake Bently". ...


What are your favorites and why?