EDITORIAL: Coming together for the holidays

In the end, maybe it doesn’t matter so much whether a business greets us with “Happy Holidays” or “Merry Christmas.”

We underestimate tradition and faith if we believe that Madison Avenue or the media can overpower them. They are the pulse of our lives, steady and strong and sustaining us.

They are what drive us to leave out a plate of cookies for Santa long after there are young children in the house. They are also what motivate the elderly and infirm to make their way to church and synagogue this time of year, despite hardships and loss. They bind us to our past and promise some continuity in the future. They are uniquely ours, evolving sometimes, but unassailable by commercial forces.

Sure, we can be influenced by the latest hot gift. An XBox 360 sounds like fun (once the bugs are worked out). And really, what is the fashion for men’s ties now? Are they thin? Are they fat? We can enjoy the passing fads and trends of our times without being slave to them.

But no marketing campaign, no contemporary furor has to threaten our observation of Christmas. The truth is, as any law-enforcement officer will say, the biggest conflicts during the next week or two will be caused by overindulgence in alcohol and intolerance. December is a big month for DUIs and domestic assaults. Our efforts would be much better spent preventing those problems than getting worked up over how a retailer greets us.

And so, let’s revel in those small, idiosyncratic things that give meaning to our celebrations, like the simple predictability and warmth of a traditional dinner if we’re lucky enough to find one on our tables. And let’s bask in those larger things that bring us together despite our differences, like our hopes for kindness and health and peace the world over.

What a perfect time of year to try to be a little bigger, a little better, a little more buoyant.

Blessings to one and all, and Merry Christmas.