Hannukah was early this year, began on December 4th. Yet of all the winter holidays which bring such high expectations {not always fulfilled}; such acrimonious debates over public displays and such {which are destined to leave at least a few people disgruntled, no matter what the outcome}; and such overwhelmingly commercial materialistic overload {which always irritates me almost beyond edurance}; the miracle of eight days of light from one day of oil for the temple lamps always touches a chord deep within me. And I always contemplate that miracle on December 22, even though Hannukah has been and gone by now, at least this year.

I know I can't assume that everyone who checks this blog on a regular basis lives in the northern hemisphere. However, for those of us who do, today is a special day indeed. Today our hours of daylight begin to lengthen. Today the darkness begins to lift. Today we move toward more of the light of the insignificant star which brightens and sustains our planet.

I am a parishioner in a church which decorates the sanctuary with green foliage and Christmas trees around the beginning of December, depending on when the first Sunday of Advent falls. But there are no lights on the trees, until Christmas Eve. I always feel my spirit brightening when I enter the room for the first time after the lights are shining there.

No matter what your faith, or lack thereof, I wish you all the blessings of light. I hope that is something that we all can agree on and hold dear.