When I went back to read what I wrote for last year’s newsletter when we first aired “Rethinking the Holidays,” our show this weekend, the holiday that first came to mind was Groundhog Day.
Here we are, again. Here we are, still, in this pandemic. But yet, we are wildly better than a year ago. I have to admit there are moments I really need to remind myself of that. We have vaccines for adults and some children (my heart aches still for parents and the youngest children still waiting). We have pushed on, learning to work, and play and even find joy in the most unlikely corners because we have to. But at the same time, things are far from normal, and I wonder if they ever really will be again. And that’s when I look to people like this week’s guests, to help give glimmers of ideas for beyond normal.
In this episode, we talk with Priya Parker about creating new holiday traditions as we give up the old, and hear a gorgeous story from Stanley Weintraub recounting another momentous and complicated time in holiday history, the Christmas Truce of 1914. We explore “Naikan,” extreme gratitude in Japan, and the comforting ritual of baking bread.
I hope if you’re hearing this show for the first time it resonates with you. And if you’re re-hearing it, that you find new and surprising layers this time around. From all of us at TTBOOK, wishing you love and peace this year, and that next year brings you even better — and different — experiences.
–Shannon