By Lauren Rabin
It was a delightful surprise on November 5 to learn that SiriusXM had already begun playing holiday music on multiple channels. Subscribers can now enjoy over 20+ channels, including Holiday Traditions, Country Christmas, Jimmy Fallon Holiday Season, Radio Hanukkah, and New Year’s Nation. This early start to the holiday music season brings a sense of joy and anticipation, getting us ready to embrace the festive spirit.
Surely, readers will think it’s way too soon to be listening to holiday music, especially with the warmer weather we’ve been experiencing, but Halloween is over, the Election is over, and as the year winds down, I’m turning my attention to the winter holidays. So, why not start listening to some Christmas music? After all, it’s never too early to embrace the holiday cheer. I think we are all ready to be more cheerful and thankful.
Let’s start by thanking our Veterans. Thank them for their service! Thank them for protecting us and defending our rights. Veterans Day is the day set aside to thank and honor ALL those who served honorably in the military—in wartime or peacetime. Veterans Day is intended to thank living veterans for their service, acknowledge that their contributions to our national security are appreciated, and underscore that all those who served have sacrificed and done their duty.
Then we have Thanksgiving, first to celebrate the harvest and to acknowledge and symbolize intercultural peace, America’s opportunity for newcomers, and the sanctity of home and family.
December isn’t just about Christmas—there are plenty of other festive holidays to enjoy! Hanukkah, the eight-day Jewish Festival of Lights, brings warmth and joy to the heart of winter. Kwanzaa is a vibrant celebration of African American culture, with seven days of honoring family, community, and heritage. And, of course, New Year’s Eve on December 31 is a time to welcome the coming year and establish our resolutions. These holidays bring a sense of warmth and joy, reminding us of the good things to come.
Speaking of resolutions, for decades, I have carried a faded and frayed copy of “New Year’s Resolutions” written by Lloyd Shearer, who wrote the popular “Personality Parade” column in Parade magazine under the name Walter Scott.
Parade was a colorful supplement found inside 350 Sunday newspapers. (Who else longs for those days of media?) One fun fact is that in 1973, Shearer wrote that Ronald Reagan would become president!
Now for the resolutions:
• No one will ever get out of this world alive. Resolve therefore to maintain a reasonable sense of values.
• Take care of yourself. Good health is everyone’s major source of wealth, and without it, happiness is almost impossible.
• Resolve to be cheerful and helpful. People will repay you in kind.
• Avoid angry, abusive persons. They are generally vengeful.
• Avoid zealots. They are generally humorless.
• Resolve to listen more and talk less. No one ever learns anything by talking.
• Be wary of giving advice. Wise men don’t need it, and fools won’t heed it.
• Resolve to be tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant of the weak and the wrong. Sometime in your life, you will have been all of these.
• Do not equate money with success. Many successful money-makers are miserable failures as human beings. What counts most about success is how a person achieves it.
As we step into November and December, let’s make a conscious effort to be cheerful and grateful. These simple acts can uplift our spirits and spread positivity, making the holiday season even more enjoyable. So, here’s to a cheerful and grateful November and December!
Lauren Rabin
Selectwoman and grateful for holiday music
