Yonkers Insider: Westchester County Legislator Damon Maher, 10th District Reports: What You Can Do in the Spirit of the Season.

 

With the start of Hanukkah on Thursday evening, the holiday season is upon us.

2020 has been a year when we have all adapted to a new normal. The rituals and rites that mark our lives and make our memories have been different. But through ingenuity and perseverance, we have found a way to make them work.

Our celebrations of Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa and other holidays, will be different this year too.  There are things we look forward to that we will miss. Family and friends we would normally be together with in person we will be speaking with on the phone. Instead of gathering at holiday tables we may be gathering on Zoom.

But at the end of a long and difficult year, the holidays bring an opportunity for reflection, renewal, and yes, rejoicing. Vaccines are on the way and brighter days are ahead.  Gaudete!

Although we may be physically apart this holiday season, in many ways the COVID-19 pandemic has shown us just how close we are in the human family.  It has never been more clear that the choices we make as individuals affect us all. We are inextricably linked. 

In a season of giving, let’s give to one another gifts that build on and strengthen that common bond – an encouraging word, a phone call to someone we haven’t spoken to during these long months, a helping hand to someone who may be in need.

Let’s allow our shared humanity to illuminate this holiday season just as brightly as our menorahs, Kwanzaa candles and Christmas lights shine.