Fa-la-la with a Dreidel

The holidays are upon us once again, but I feel more like a guest than an initiator. I seem to be making no effort, but rather celebrating only upon invitation.

On Saturday night we went to a Christmas sing-along at the home of someone with whom I had meditated for several years. He’s now married and has a young child, so he no longer makes his way to the early morning sits on Capitol Hill. He’s a real musician through and through. He played carol after carol on his beautiful Kawai shiny black grand piano and we sang with gusto. I love all those songs about snowflakes and Santa and silver bells and logs on a fire. They are my first memories of Christmas and I still remember all the words.

Yesterday as I left my friend Deborah’s after playing music all morning, she gave me a bag of Hanukkah gifts – homemade granola and rum balls. She couldn’t have found anything I would like better.

Yesterday afternoon we went to a traditional Christmas cookie party. It was a great chance to see neighbors we seldom connect with and this year there were more and more of the youngest generation. I tried not to hang out near the table laden with cookies, knowing full well how many pounds of butter and sugar went into their preparation. But the killer cookie was a peanut butter ball wrapped in dark chocolate.

Last night we were invited to a Hanukkah dinner to celebrate the first of the eight nights. We lit menorahs and sang the Hanukkah blessings. The hostess served three kinds of latkes and terrific homemade applesauce.

I received one on-line Christmas card and one beautiful Hanukkah card from an old friend.

I seem uncharacteristically un-proactive this holiday season. I’m enjoying what’s put on my plate, but not doing much in return. The sum total of my holiday purchases to date are three poinsettias.

Maybe today I’ll haul out my card-making supplies and see if I can jump-start my holiday spirit, which currently seems to be stalled.