A Christmas Message

By John Grimaldi


It’s supposed to be the season of joy and hope. But, yet again, the fates have decided we need a lesson, a very stark lesson, in acceptance, acceptance of yet another year of pandemic solitude. It’s a challenge: do we give in and give up a chance to be happy again? Or do we rise up and say I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore?

This is not to say that you or I should take our chances by resisting and celebrating as we did in the days of yore. But there are common sense ways of safe, sound and jubilant celebration that avoid the kind of revelry that increases the odds of coming down with the coronavirus and its variants. It’s Christmas! Stand firm. Take care, of course, but rejoice and enjoy.

Christmas, in the era of COVID, is different at best. But that doesn’t mean the day can be dismissed. It’s the time of the year when we profess what we are – the children of God. And, come hell or high water, God is with us. It doesn’t matter what your religious beliefs are. He has protected us in the past and he will protect us in the present and the future.

So, gather as you will, taking necessary safeguards and remembering that the season – a season that stretches from Hanukah to Kwanzaa -- brings with it the promise of hope.

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