OUR VIEW: Merry Christmas to all

On behalf of the entire staff at The Times and everyone employed with us at Rushing Media, we would like to wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas during this holiday season.

While we’re at it, why don’t you guys also have a very happy and prosperous New Year, as well.

There’s nothing like the holiday season – it’s simply the best time of the year.

Of course, it’s a time of gifts, trinkets and other bundles of joy that go along with Santa Claus and everything else the North Pole has to offer.

Several of our employees at Rushing Media have children. They tout that there’s nothing like the feeling of amazement on their young son or daughter’s faces as they trot out of bed and get a gander at the buffet of gifts under the Christmas tree for the very first time.

It’s a feeling that is only rivaled by what happens a few minutes later when they are given the OK to tear through those wrapped treasures and get a peak at all of the offerings that Santa has rewarded them with for their good behavior in the past year.

For some, it’ll be a bike. For others, it’ll be the latest video game gadget.

But whatever it is, the consistent smile of joy is a constant, and it’s one of the reasons why the Christmas season is a joy for all.

Think about your own childhood and your own experiences. For one staff writer, the joy of receiving a Super Nintendo was a memory that he’ll never forget. For others, it was that bright red bike – the first in his life that came packaged without training wheels. For another, it was that doll house with all of the fixings. Another remembers the action figures that Santa constructed for him at the North Pole.

Sure, the gifts are great, and they are the sizzle that make the season pure.

But the steak is something different – the point that we want to touch upon in this editorial piece.

The Christmas season is a time for love, family and togetherness – all things that, admittedly, we sometimes lose track of in the busy grind of the average work year.

It’s a time for peace; a break in all of the drama and hatred that seems to convolute our headlines on a week-to-week basis.

We deal with it as much as any on a week-to-week basis, as it’s our job to tell the stories of our community – whether good or bad in nature.

But for this one day a year, we get to forget about murder, car robberies and other criminal misdeeds and focus on loving one another and caring for those closest to us.

Sure, our community is more free of these things than others, but they still exist nonetheless, so it’s always nice to get a break from evil to celebrate goodness.

If of Christian belief, of course, the holidays are also a time to honor the birthday of God’s son Jesus, and to act as free from sin as possible in remembrance of his short life on earth.

If not Christian, that goes out of the window, but many non-Christians still use the upcoming days for their own special purposes. For those people, the Christmas season is likely more a time focused on being around special people – friends, family and neighbors. Simply put – it’s about the people who make life special, and make life worth living.

But no matter one’s beliefs or traditions, the most important thing is to use this time to celebrate peace. This is one of the only opportunities that we have each year to love one other, live freely and cherish everyone for the good that we all possess.

Use the coming days wisely, for that is the true meaning of Christmas.

The gifts are nice, but the true meaning is much more – that deep feeling of warmth and comfort when surrounded by folks that you love.

So on behalf of our families and delivered straight to yours, we would like to wish everyone in the Houma-Thibodaux community a very Merry Christmas and an incredibly prosperous New Year!

Let’s make the next year a 12-month stretch that our community can be proud of.

The past 12 months haven’t been too shabby, either.