Celebrate, share your holiday blessings

TOM HARMAN

The holiday season has a way of creating a special warmth in the

heart, even as the cold weather chills our bones.

Christmas, Hanukkah and the celebration of Kwanzaa all bring us

together to share food, stories, gifts and love -- not just with our

families, but with friends, fellow worshippers and those in our

communities who are less fortunate.

For many families, this is the only time of the year that grown

children will be reunited with their parents, that youngsters will

spend time with grandparents, that brothers and sisters will take

time out of busy schedules to share a dinner table and count their

blessings.

Classic holiday movies are a major part of the season for many

families, providing not just entertainment, but genuine inspiration.

Who can forget the conclusion of Charles Shultz’s Charlie Brown film,

when Linus cuts through the commercialism and reminds us of the true

meaning of Christmas?

Or how about when young Natalie Wood experiences the miracle on

34th Street, or when Jimmy Stewart discovers that it really is a

wonderful life, despite the challenges we all face?

Even Ebenezer Scrooge and the Grinch eventually catch the spirit

and share holiday feasts with their neighbors -- something the makers

of today’s mean-spirited anti-Christmas films might want to reflect

on.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has a holiday movie in his Christmas

past -- “Jingle All the Way,” a 1996 film that spoofs the toy-buying

frenzies that sometimes threaten to overwhelm this deeply spiritual

holiday.

The governor’s movie might never be mentioned among the classics,

but his speech at this year’s Christmas tree lighting ceremony at the

Capitol surely will be.

Before he flipped the switch to illuminate the beautiful 56-foot

white fir, the governor spoke warmly of his childhood Christmases in

Austria, and of gathering with family members to sing and eat

homemade treats and open presents. But he also reminded us that “the

trumpet call of good cheer also calls us to reach out to the less

fortunate, the poor and the powerless -- let’s keep them in our

hearts and give them a helping hand.”

Schwarzenegger further urged Californians to send our thanks and

prayers to our troops who are serving this country in Iraq,

Afghanistan and elsewhere around the world. As we pray for the troops

and for the end of armed hostilities, let us also do everything we

can to support the families they have left behind, for this truly is

the best way to thank the brave soldiers for the gift of freedom they

have given us.

As you and your family arrange your Nativity scene, light your

menorah or prepare your Kwanzaa celebration, I hope you will feel the

special warmth in your heart. Let us cherish this feeling now, and

work to make it last all year long.

Happy holidays, and God bless us, every one!

* TOM HARMAN represents the 67th Assembly District and lives in

Huntington Beach. To contri- bute to “Sounding Off” e-mail us at

[email protected] or fax us at (714) 966-4667.