Christmas time can be many different things to people. Some have just celebrated Hanukkah, and others have upcoming religious and cultural observances. For us, Christmas is a time of celebrating with family and friends as well as enjoying all the warm feelings that everyone’s various holidays bring. We will be in San Francisco and will be having Christmas dinner with longtime friends who will be hosting 18 people.
It can be a time of enjoying the city celebrations like SF Glow, the Union Square Christmas tree and the Botanical Garden light show. We loved SF Glow as we did the prescribed walk along the lighted holiday animations on 9 city buildings, and are looking forward to attending the Botanical Lightscape 2025 event.
This can be a time of melancholy; I miss friends and family no longer with us. I miss my mother, who loved Christmas and tried to make it special by hosting family with holiday dinners and homemade Christmas cookies. I think it was particularly meaningful for her because in our home she had a family to share it with, having been raised herself by my grandfather, who worked most of the time after my grandmother passed at a young age.
This can also be a time of thinking of others and reaching out to help those less fortunate. A particular charity I like to donate to at the holidays is the San Francisco Chronicle Season of Sharing Fund, which raises money for Bay Area residents facing homelessness and hunger.
However you celebrate the holidays, I wish for you some time to relax and enjoy the company of family and friends. A Merry Christmas to everybody!
