Christmas Countdown: December 1 It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

Baby, it's cold outside, the wind is blowing, the snow is falling, and it is really beginning to look a lot like Christmas. Which is good because Christmas is but a scant 24 days away.

The big day for me and mine though is 23 days away, Christmas Eve. That's when my family has traditionally celebrated Christmas with a family get-together.

They were always fun and happy occasions, at least in the rose-colored glasses I wear this time of year. Always lots of food and libations, conversation and laughter, and always gifts, even in years that might have been a little lean financially. So I look back at my childhood Christmases with fondness.

There was a Christmas when I was 5 years old or so and, when I drifted away from any adult supervision, I ate quite a few of the chocolate liqueur filled ornaments on my grandparents Christmas tree, thus beginning a life-long, mostly happy, association between booze and Christmas. In my teenage years I was deemed old enough to be given a shot or two of potent Polish Christmas cheer, and I liked it. And in my middle-age a shot or three of spirits is still enjoyable.

I remember the gifts of my childhood, both new and hand-me-down: an electric Lionel train that passed through the hands of my cousin, my uncle and then to me; a Bobby Hull hockey game; a pinball machine, the Dr. Seuss book, "How the Grinch Stole Christmas".

But really, you and I both know that it's not the gifts that were of utmost importance, (although they were certainly nice to receive). What's important is being able to spend time with family and close friends. With work or school or any other of the million modern day distractions, you may not have been able to spend as much time as you would have liked with those people. That's life and we accept it. But at Christmas we always strive to be together. No matter how different family members may be as people, no matter that we certainly don't always agree on every little thing, we know we are there for each other. The Christmas gathering is an affirmation of love, the love and forgiveness we feel for each other. We gather to show our love and to feel the love of others.