Books by Judy Strong

Summer blazed out of Arizona in a day, and brisk autumn was upon us the next. The cold, crisp air is refreshing to me, a native midwesterner, but I prefer to have the seasons merge more slowly, so I can get used to different temperatures.

With autumn comes the Season of  Holidays, celebrations of a wide variety, and all having their respective traditions, from costumes and candy to the spiritual traditions from different faiths.

A common tradition of most holidays is gift giving. In the purest sense, this is a sincere offering to someone important in your life, as a gesture of love and friendship. As we all know, however, the giving of gifts can become a mad rush to buy things for everyone and anyone, often the only real expression of the keeping of the holiday.

The difficult economic problems may actually have a positive influence this holiday season. Handmade gifts, or better yet, the gift of yourself in time spent with or for another can be a blessing, and may even become a tradition. The possibilities are endless for helping someone, and exchanging gifts of helpfulness can start or deepen a friendship.

The origin of most gift giving traditions for celebrating a holiday was about simplicity and goodwill. Our whole country needs large doses of goodwill right now. Let’s all make this the most joyous Season of Holidays ever.

Judy