Kindling Lights

Confession time: I broke out the holiday playlist a week before Thanksgiving this year. I usually try to preserve the boundary between Fall and Christmas, but it was dark, I was tired, and I just couldn’t wait any longer to hear David Benoit play “Carol of the Bells.” As soon as it started, I could feel the stress of the day melt away as the Christmas joy came rushing in.

I love this time of year. It’s not because I love shopping — I would rather be junk-punched by an angry elf than spend a day at the mall — or because I want to feel like a kid again. I’m quite happy as an adult, thanks, and the more I help my kids with their homework, the more grateful I am to leave that part of my life in the distant past. Nor do I suffer from that desperate need that I see in some “24-hour Christmas station” listeners for Christmas to arrive in the nick of time and rescue another miserable year with its tinsel, snowy sidewalks, and Precious Moments figurines. My feelings for this season can be summed up in two words: peace and joy.

I’ve always looked forward to the time between Thanksgiving and New Year’s, partly because of how peaceful it is. As the days grow colder and darker, the world seems to turn inward, preferring cozy nights by the fire to long days in the outdoors. Everything slows down and we have time to breathe, to step aside from the hectic pace of life and to rejuvenate, to gather our…