Happy Holidays

The holidays are upon us and before we know it 2024 will be a wrap. In this article I want to talk about what the holidays are for many of us. I also want to explore why this time of year may not bring happy times to some people for various reasons.

Photo by author

Sometime between the Halloween celebration and Thanksgiving Americans are known to find Christmas trees, lights and decorations being show cased in the many different retail establishments. This signals the happiest time of the year. Also during this time SiriusXM, iHeart radio and many local radio stations start playing our favorite Christmas music. Ahh, the memories that this brings back to the forefront of our thoughts.

I remember that the night before Christmas my mother would spend a lot of time putting up the Christmas tree and decorating it. My adoptive mother was of Austrian decent and Christmas was a big deal for her when she was a child. In Austria, parents, grandparents and children experienced a rich Christmas celebration tradition.

I remember how year after year my mother created a work of art with our Christmas tree. She spent many hours fussing over the way the tree limbs were shaped, where the lights were deployed. She loved to use tinsel and ornaments in just the right spots. I do not have any photos of these Christmas trees but if I did I would share it with you here. During those years the best we…