I admit information technology. I was once every bit grouchy as Scrooge most the winter holidays. Even as my husband and I assembled bikes for the kids in the wee hours of Christmas morning (and yes, nosotros were inevitably a few bolts short), I fretted over whether we were conveying the true spirit of the flavour or but grooming superconsumers. I dreaded the annual shopping and eating free-for-all that left the states thinner in the wallet, fatter in the thighs, and exhausted from all the effort. By the time New year finally rolled around each twelvemonth, I was a handbasket case. Where was the sacred aspect? I wondered.

Of course, I wasn't alone in my frazzled state. The holidays can exist incredibly stressful for everyone, especially when nosotros're focused on the externals rather than the true meaning of the holy days and their hope of peace and renewal.

Over the years, my extended and blended Jewish/Christian family has gradually made the holidays more than meaningful. Nosotros nonetheless give presents to the children, but we quit exchanging gifts among adults. Instead, each of u.s.a. chooses a charity and gives money in the names of family and friends. I wish that I'd wised up sooner.

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When my 2 boys were pocket-sized, I would accept had them make two Christmas/Hanukkah lists: one noting things they wanted for themselves, the other of things they wanted to requite to less-fortunate children. It would have been a smashing time to get out the world and think about life in other cultures as we made plans to fulfill their clemency wish list.But we did have some lively conversations and rituals that honored Judaism, Christianity, and the winter solstice. I remember how Hanukkah came alive one twelvemonth afterwards we lit the menorah and said the prayers. We started talking about miracles. The Hanukkah phenomenon was that a single, small pot of oil burned for viii nights instead of just ane. But the truthful Hanukkah miracle, nosotros decided after a surprisingly deep and touching chat, is nearly a whole lot more oil. It'due south about remembering the mysterious strength of grace that operates continuously in every life. Each of united states of america talked about a fourth dimension when grace touched us with help or healing. Small kids are so total of wonder and curiosity that a unproblematic invitation to reflect on their lives often unleashes a torrent of excited stories, insights, and questions. This is the stuff that the best holiday memories are fabricated of.

When Christmas came effectually that year, our discussions continued. What if the birth of the Christ child was likewise near the nativity of honey and newness in our ain lives? Nosotros'd just moved to a different boondocks that twelvemonth, and so we reflected on all the blessings that had entered our lives. That led to a slap-up exchange about letting become of the old to brand room for the new.[pagebreak]All the Dec holidays commemorate light in some way. And whether y'all celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, the winter solstice, or all of the above, y'all tin can have the occasion to clean out the sometime and make room for the birth of the new inside you. It's easy to talk well-nigh letting your own inner lite smooth, only it's hard to experience that light glowing if your life is crammed with mental or physical clutter. To that end, I exercise a simple ritual every year that does wonders for clearing my inner space: I clean off my desk. Don't laugh--it actually works.

The process usually takes two one-half days, so I put them on my calendar. On the offset half day, I go through the dusty piles of neglected responsibilities, culling all the letters, faxes, manuscripts, videos, CDs, books, and e-mails that I know I'one thousand not going to get around to, despite my adept intentions. The few items that are still important get into an firsthand to-do pile. On the following one-half 24-hour interval of the Great Desk-bound-Clearing Ritual, I attack the pile with vigor. When information technology has been vanquished, I write notes to a handful of people who have made a difference in my life during the year.

Finally, I call up virtually my personal vision for the futurity and distill information technology into a mission argument for the yr to come. I get out my desk clean on New Year's Eve, except for the mission statement. This year, I'll stop the ritual by reading it to my fiancé, Gordie; my three closest buddies; my wonderful staff, Luzie and Kathleen; and the kids. After all, they're the ones who'll likely hold my feet to the burn down and so that I follow through and complete the tasks that my heart knows I was put here to accomplish.I recommend this ritual for its heart- and soul-clearing furnishings. Here are four boosted suggestions to transform your holidays into holy days.

Create a charity box. This is a spot where anybody in the family unit drops loose change at the finish of each day. At some point during the holidays--a perfect time would be when you exchange presents--decide what cause you'll donate the money to adjacent December.

Take a political party with spiritual pizzazz. Invite 5 to x people and ask them to bring festive food and drink. Requite each person a turn to speak without interruption well-nigh the lessons they've learned in the past year. And then take a few minutes to write downwardly old habits that each of you is ready to let go of, and burn the collected papers in a fireplace if you have one, or in another safe place.

Give out love coupons. Create them by hand from colored paper, or fifty-fifty design them on the computer. They tin be good for stories and trips to the zoo for kids; home-cooked, romantic candlelit dinners (or more amorous activities) for spouses; walks in special places with friends. Foot rubs, dorsum rubs, concerts, chores...the possible delights are endless.

Take a retreat twenty-four hour period two or 3 weeks before the holidays. This means time alone to reflect, walk in nature, do some spiritual reading or writing, and exist silent. It may seem crazy when there's so much to do, simply a centered, peaceful y'all is the best souvenir you can give to your family this--or whatever--holiday flavour.