It’s time to send you our last greetings of the Season.  It’s our pleasure to do so. We wish you a very Merry Christmas and a happy, healthy, joyful, prosperous New Year in 2007.  We don’t know about you, but here at South Boston Online, we think it’s time to relax, celebrate, and quietly give others hand, wherever it is needed.

     To see what we mean, please take a look at our articles on recent activities and celebrations.

     In this year of 2006 A.D., Christmas falls on a Monday, which won’t happen again until 2017, eleven years from now.  Sunday is the traditional day of rest in the U.S. (or the American Sabbath, if you like).  This coming Sunday, December 24, Christmas Eve, is a “built-in” day off.  May we suggest you use it to catch up with yourself

     Obviously, you’ll have to cook, take care of the kids, and do some last-minute gift wrapping.  And you may have visitors coming in.  Why not invest in some takeout food to save yourself some time?  You might even ask your guests to pitch in – we’ll give you ten-to-one they’ll not only do it willingly, they’ll enjoy it.  Holiday celebrations are all about togetherness.

     Take an hour to walk around the neighborhood during the mild weather.  Go into downtown Boston solely to look at the decorations – they’re worth seeing this year.

     If you want a politically incorrect suggestion, how about going to church sometime between Saturday evening and Monday, Christmas morning?  We know that most South Bostonians don’t attend church regularly, but at Christmastime it’s an uplifting thing to do.  If nothing else, you’ll hear traditional music well sung, and you’ll see your friends.  Who knows?  You might surprise them by showing up at church.

     Even if you aren’t a believer, you can still experience the fellowship in a church congregation.  The church service could provide you with an hour in which you simply meditate on the past year, or contemplate the new year.  Just some quiet time.  And you’ll be welcome, no matter what your persuasion.  There’s always room at the inn at this time of year.

     Many of us complain about how extremely busy things get at this time of year.  It’s early for resolutions, but perhaps you could silently promise yourself that Christmastime in 2007 will be more about friends, family, and your own enjoyment.  However you choose your year-end observances, don’t ever forget that you make the choices.

     Many of us also complain about the excessive consumerism at this time of year.  But remember, purchases of any kind are up to us as individuals.  We make the decisions.  Retailers often overdo the ads and the hype during the Holidays – let them know (in writing) if that displeases you.  Otherwise, our purses and wallets belong to us.  We’re the only ones who can decide to open them to buy something.

     The third source of complaints concerns public Christmas displays.  We admit these can be overdone, especially when they are used to sell something, but there’s nothing inherently wrong or illegal about them.  In fact, we think that the custom of having public religious displays, including Christmas displays, has led to greater diversity in the U.S., not less – no matter what the boo-birds tell you.

     We mentioned this in our November 30 editorial, but it bears repeating.  Traditional and modern observances have sprung up all over America at this time of year.  Where else can we observe Thanksgiving, followed closely by Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, and Eid al Adha?  And these are intermixed with the secular observance of New Year’s Eve (Festivus, anyone?), as well as the Wiccan solstice feast of Yule on December 22 (coincidentally, a day of peace and giving among the Druids).  In the first few months of 2007, Mardi Gras, Chinese New Year (the Year of the Pig), and St. Patrick’s Day are observed.

     Make no mistake.  If you celebrated all of these events in most other nations, you would be laughed at, perhaps spit upon and beaten, and possibly thrown in jail.

     But not here.  Christmastime in America is a time when you can unwind and enjoy in your own way.  Take advantage of that freedom, with our best wishes.