Document Type
News Article
Publication/Presentation Date
Winter 2015
Reflection
Reflection for the Season
Every family has their traditions and, as our sons were growing up, one of ours was to sit together and read that lovely tale by Clement C Moore, ‘The Night Before Christmas’, using a version given to my elder son when he was very small. My son now has his own children, and he and his wife continue the tradition.
Christmas in the UK starts in October (or even earlier in some places!) when decorations appear in shops, shopping ideas feature in magazines and on-line supermarkets invite their customers to ‘book their slot’ for Christmas deliveries. In the US, you have the same period of frenetic commercial activity, but split into three parts, Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas covering respectively, October, November and December. UK shops (real ones and those on-line) have been quick to realise the commercial potential of Halloween and Thanksgiving, but merge these events into their much more major focus – Christmas!
I have to admit that I love going into ‘Christmas’ shops at any time of the year, although generally, only to browse. We have very few in the UK but there are many in the US, all smelling of cinnamon and other spices which bring instant recognition and nostalgia for other seasonal traditions - decking the hall, roasting chestnuts, singing carols, etc.
This is a short newsletter, with one main focus – to share season’s greetings with everyone in our rapidly growing 5BFTS family. Whether you celebrate Christmas or whether you don’t, I hope you all get to enjoy some time with your family and friends and use the holiday to stop, unwind, reflect on the old year and look forward to the new one. And in 2016, there is a very special 5BFTS landmark. In May, it is the 60th British Memorial Service at the British Plot at Oak Ridge Cemetery – please come and join us to celebrate and thank the Rotary Club of Arcadia for organising this service for the past 60 years (see below).
Scholarly Commons Citation
Harding, J. A. (2015). 5 BFTS Association Newsletter No 3 - Christmas. , (No.3). Retrieved from https://commons.erau.edu/bfts-clewiston-newsletters/2