Holidays are about family and celebrating

First glance this might be a Christmas tree. Look closer though.  This is a Hanukah (Hanukkah) tree. No, I didn’t turn Jewish but I did attend a great Hanukkah party.

Friends have become family over the last few years, and what better way to enjoy that family than to celebrate with them.  Why should I avoid their celebrations just because I don’t share their faith.

Meredith and her family invited my wife and I as well as a host of others.  Jewish friends showed up but so did Christians, atheists, and an agnostic or two. We were there for the joy of family and friends, not to worry over who’s beliefs were right or wrong, and whether we could break bread together.

What enables these joint celebrations or parties? Is it that each of us felt obligated to throw our beliefs around at each other? No. It was loving one another.

I believe God, the one I believe in, calls us to love others as ourselves. Minimally it means acceptance of those we know as valuable and worth caring for and about. Would I love those close to me to share my faith? Of course, but whether they do or not I’m going to love them.

That of course means big hugs, share a glass of wine, and breaking bread together. This holiday season I challenge you to be a living example of love through giving, sharing, and being there for those you care about regardless of your differences.

By the way, my Jewish friends tell me they have a holy day dedicated to getting smashed. I’m just saying…