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Its taken me almost three hours to compose, but I've finally got something I like. Here is the text of the letter that will be enclosed in my family's Christmas cards this year:
The holidays are rapidly approaching, and once again we find ourselves running out of time to prepare for the festivities. In the midst of the all theses preparations, its easy to overlook the meaning of the holiday. Christmas should be a celebration of peace and love, a message that remains as timely as ever.
We were reminded of this message last weekend, as we visited the “Hershey's Sweet Lights” holiday exhibit in Hershey, PA. As we drove past the numerous animated light displays, one, in particular, jumped out at us. Its message seemed to be exceptionally timely, and we snapped several pictures of the display. One of those pictures ended up on the front of our Holiday Cards.
“Celebrate our Differences” read the display. While this doesn't seem to be a traditional message for this season, it struck a chord with us. With all the strife in the world today, from the war on terrorism to the political mudslinging of the electoral process, it sometimes seems that we've forgotten the holiday message of love. Our differences have been used to drive wedges between various groups. This troubling trend immediately came to mind when we saw this display.
One of mankind's greatest gifts is our diversity. It is through our differences that we can reach beyond our individual experiences to gain a greater understanding of ourselves and our world. If we had no diversity, if we were all exactly the same, we would lose much of this ability, and we would be left with a much shallower understanding of our place in the world.
In order to benefit from this diversity, we must accept and celebrate it. We don't have to always agree with those who differ from us, we don't have to like them. But we must respect them, and we should listen to them, for we just might learn from them. If we all could share this respect for one another, despite our differences, then there just might be a chance that we could experience a little of the “peace on earth, goodwill toward men” proclaimed by the angels on the first Christmas, so long ago.
May each of you have a joyous holiday season. We hope that everyone finds an opportunity to relax and to reflect on the spirit of the season. May you each find you own ways to celebrate our differences.
This is the picture mentioned in the letter:
The holidays are rapidly approaching, and once again we find ourselves running out of time to prepare for the festivities. In the midst of the all theses preparations, its easy to overlook the meaning of the holiday. Christmas should be a celebration of peace and love, a message that remains as timely as ever.
We were reminded of this message last weekend, as we visited the “Hershey's Sweet Lights” holiday exhibit in Hershey, PA. As we drove past the numerous animated light displays, one, in particular, jumped out at us. Its message seemed to be exceptionally timely, and we snapped several pictures of the display. One of those pictures ended up on the front of our Holiday Cards.
“Celebrate our Differences” read the display. While this doesn't seem to be a traditional message for this season, it struck a chord with us. With all the strife in the world today, from the war on terrorism to the political mudslinging of the electoral process, it sometimes seems that we've forgotten the holiday message of love. Our differences have been used to drive wedges between various groups. This troubling trend immediately came to mind when we saw this display.
One of mankind's greatest gifts is our diversity. It is through our differences that we can reach beyond our individual experiences to gain a greater understanding of ourselves and our world. If we had no diversity, if we were all exactly the same, we would lose much of this ability, and we would be left with a much shallower understanding of our place in the world.
In order to benefit from this diversity, we must accept and celebrate it. We don't have to always agree with those who differ from us, we don't have to like them. But we must respect them, and we should listen to them, for we just might learn from them. If we all could share this respect for one another, despite our differences, then there just might be a chance that we could experience a little of the “peace on earth, goodwill toward men” proclaimed by the angels on the first Christmas, so long ago.
May each of you have a joyous holiday season. We hope that everyone finds an opportunity to relax and to reflect on the spirit of the season. May you each find you own ways to celebrate our differences.
This is the picture mentioned in the letter:
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