From the "My Favorite Things" set of cards comes the question, "What's your favorite holiday?" ----- Like many Americans, I'm a big fan of Christmas. And while Thanksgiving might be a more family-focused holiday insofar as people celebrate family and food without the distraction of gifts, I love Christmas. ----- First, there's the excitement of gifting - giving them and receiving them. Personally I enjoy shopping for those I love, thinking about what inspires them and how I might tap into or even extend that inspiration with a thoughtful purchase. Watching my wife or my children or my parents open a carefully albeit poorly wrapped (by me, not my wife; she's a great wrapper!) gift gives me great satisfaction. The reaction says it all: sometimes it's a hit and sometimes it's not. I like the real-time nature of it all, although it's much nicer to have hit than missed -- and my wife and kids are painfully honest in that regard so I try really hard. ----- Second, there's the sheer excitement of the holiday season. With Christmas come many rituals that in moderation (a lost art some might say) warm the spirit and the soul. The trees, the colors, the cold weather (I live in NY), the elaborate retail decorations, the meals; it's nice to be consistently transported by one's sense of sight, taste, hearing, touch and smell to a holiday that is typically associated with happy memories. People are in good cheer and that makes a big difference. ----- Third, Christmas marks the beginning of a good sized vacation that typically takes us to the end of the year. It represents, therefore, a time of relative relaxation -- time away from work and/or school and the many stresses of life, to spend with family and friends (also stressful, perhaps, but somewhat less so). And while the days leading up to this holiday - the gift getting, the cooking, the traveling - can be a bit enervating and nerve-wracking, once the morning finally arrives, it's all downhill from there. ----- Christmas Day, many forget, marks a very special birthday and that's really how this holiday got started. Many who celebrate do so remembering this fact while others do not; instead they celebrate each other. Despite a mixed religious background, my family always celebrated Christmas and because of my mixed religious background, I appreciate both aspects of this special day which, for me, makes it even more special. ----- This particular holiday season has been hard on many of us for number of reasons and this pean has not shed a single ray of light upon the dark side of the holiday. But today I'm going to do my best to set aside all that. Instead, I'm going to stare at the faces of those I love (and think kindly of those friendly faces far away) and hope that everyone - EVERYONE - is enjoying this day no matter what it means to them. Merry Christmas!