Now, time for nourishing the spirit

In this year of vaccination and boosters, more holiday events are happening than in 2020, giving all the opportunity to find some inspiration in the season that was harder to come by last year. But,  you may find that after the revelation of a new variant of COVID and supply chain problems,  it seems as if the holiday spirit is still in too short a supply around your house this year. Time to encourage the first annual viewing of some family members’ favorite holiday movies and such activities? If that doesn’t do the trick, there are additional ways to increase the goodwill to all so necessary to enjoying the shortest and darkest days of the year. You will have your own ideas, and this year we would really like to hear about them through letters on our opinion pages, but here are a couple of suggestions to get you on your way.

Take a look through Compass this week to see calendar listings, as well as briefs throughout the newspaper, of tree lightings and parades of lights, Menorah lightings, concerts, chorales, dance performances, decorating days, festivals of trees, seasonal theater, special showings of movies on the big screen, church bazaars and ceremonies and more. Attending any of these will go a long way toward gathering some good feelings for the rest of the season. And after all, there has already been some snow to begin the process, so we should be halfway there.

One important thing to remember at this time of year, though, is that many of the season’s celebrations also function as fundraisers for area nonprofit organizations. These include not only the churches, food pantries and gift collections, but also the libraries, historical societies, fire companies and more. Many of them may just wish to break even, yet would benefit from greater support at this time of year, especially after a time of extended pandemic-limited activity.

This year our plea to readers to support nonprofits will include, of course, this newly minted media nonprofit. The Lakeville Journal Foundation is now an approved nonprofit organization, and as noted in our enclosed letter of appeal for support, any donation to it will have tax benefits as allowed by law. So thank you to all our readers who include us in your end of year giving. It means so much to all of us who are working to keep local journalism alive in the region.

Thinking about our neighbors who could use some help getting through the holidays, and the cold winter months to follow, can help give us all some reasons to feel good about giving to worthy organizations, as so many do at the end of the year coinciding with the holidays.

If we find ways to help those in our communities who are struggling, as those holiday celebrations encourage us to do, and carry that sense of community into the months ahead, the spirit of the holidays will mean even more and have longlasting effects for those around us, and for ourselves.