A different kind of Christmas
Troubling times can bring out the best in people and this year is no exception
Christmas is and has always been about family. This is the time when we get together with our loved ones and share that spirit of togetherness that keeps us going for another year.
There are many who won’t get to see their loved ones this Christmas.
We are in the midst of a pandemic. And while some of us may get to see our family members, others can only do so from afar. And still others have just lost their loved ones to this terrible disease.
First and foremost we would like to extend our gratitude to those on the front lines fighting this illness. We appreciate your long days, longer nights, your time away from your families and your willingness to put your own health on
We wish you what we would wish for ourselves. That is, health and hope, success and much happiness in the
year to come.
— The staff at the Rome News-tribune.
the line that others might be saved.
Christmas is a time for unity and peace. Like any of this season’s beautifully wrapped gifts, you must pull off the bows and rip away the paper to find out what’s really inside.
As with all things human, it is what’s inside that really counts. Christmas has become a universal time of hope, peace and goodwill.
In a sense, it has transcended its religious beginnings. It’s the spirit of the thing, the hopefulness and humanity espoused by Jesus Christ. It’s not the time for exclusion of other faiths, races or ethnicities. It’s a time to emulate what religion is in its best and purest form — goodwill for all people.
Let’s allow the divisiveness that has characterized so much of this year to fade and let this day be a call for what next year could potentially bring.
Christmas has evolved into a time when we should do something to help those in need find a way to share the universal warmth and good feelings of the holiday. We’ve seen that with numerous food drives, a massive Toys for Tots program locally and the Sheriff’s Santa program — all funded by locals to help out locals.
Christmas has become a time when one remembers loved ones and friends, near or far, with tokens of affection whether they be presents or greeting cards. It has become, more than any other time or any other celebration, a time when we are all one people — regardless of nationality, race, religion or ethnicity.
It is a time when the power is with us — the power of shared emotions, shared feelings, shared concerns, shared hopes, shared burdens, shared solutions, shared love. Christmas has come to stand for hope. It has come to magnify the importance of the betterment of the human condition. It is about goodwill toward man not so much by God, though his goodwill is much to be desired, but the goodwill of man toward his fellow man.
This is the true gift of Christmas.
And we are in need to Christmas now more than ever. We have faced division at every turn — political, social, religious and racial. We ask only that you remember what today represents. A very long time ago, a tiny baby was born in rather humble surroundings. But he was, and continues to be, a symbol of redemption, forgiveness, love, peace, charity and hope.
Whatever your beliefs, we wish you and your family a most wonderful and joyous Christmas. And in the spirit of loving thy neighbor — ALL thy neighbors. We wish you what we would wish for ourselves. That is, health and hope, success and much happiness in the year to come.