Though my family observes Yule on or about the 21st of December, to celebrate the return of the Sun, we also observe the rituals of Christmas with our extended family to celebrate the birth of Yeshua of Nazareth in respect for all of the wisdom that He imparted to the world. (Which sadly is most of the time completely ignored by people of all religions.) For Yule we usually give gifts to each other that we've made ourselves.
Though we are by no means wealthy by American standards, we realise that we are much better off than the vast majority of the people in the world and we thank the Universe for that daily. We go out of our way to make sure to instill in our children that spirit of giving to others less fortunate than we are throughout the year as we can. Every Christmas though, our families, my wife, Santa Claus and I also provide the kids with a few 'real' toys that the kids can just enjoy for themselves just for the sake of the fun of being a kid.
This year we were very blessed because my father-in-law survived the heart attack that he had on the 21st and though he ended up spending Christmas in the hospital waiting for a quadruple bypass (which he underwent on the 27th and is now recovering from) we were able to go to his room late Christmas morning to be with him. My wife having her father with her is the sort of gift that isn't made in China of plastic nor paid for with plastic (in the American way), but we hope that it will be enjoyed for many years to come.
I wish you all a very happy new year and will soon return for something like a PAW project for 2006.
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