By Regina Moreno

Mommy was busy wrapping presents in the upstairs bedroom with door closed on this Christmas Eve.  I knew Daddy had bought something very special during our recent trip to the winter wonderland known as Macy’s Department Store in New York City. I couldn’t to wait to open the special package.

But first, it was time for me to get dressed. In this scene, I am five years old, and Mommy is helping me into my new red dress with the pretty swirling skirt. My wardrobe  includes a red coat and a matching hat with earmuffs, along with fancy boots decorated with pompoms. Finally, I have a little muff to keep my hands warm from the winter chill. 

Then all of the carefully wrapped gifts were placed into the rumble seat of our black car. I loved riding in that seat, but Mommy said we needed a safe place for the presents. Daddy carried a big bag.

“What’s in there?” I asked Daddy.

By Karen Carnabucci, LCSW, TEP

Here we are at the Winter Solstice, the longest night of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. This time, which we call the first day of Winter, might be my favorite holiday of the season because it involves no shop-till-you-drop consumerism and no 24-7 Christmas music.
The day simply asks us to look at wonder in the skies, notice and appreciate the natural rhythms of the earth and ponder the meaning of the temporary darkness before the return of the light

The Winter Solstice is certainly one of the planet's oldest holidays, the day when the Northern ancients noticed that the darkness overtook the light. Astronomically, it is when the North Pole is tilted farthest away from the sun, delivering the fewest hours of sunlight of the year.

When we are in the dark, we move more slowly and tentatively. We may feel more vulnerable and therefore more frightened. So my holiday wish for me and you is this: May we become comfortable with the darkness, learning what it has to teach us, before we return to the warmth of the light.