Happy New Year from Charitable Nation!
I really like the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day. It is about as calm and quiet a week as exists anytime during the year and gives us a chance to both bask in the glow of the holiday season and contemplate the future.
During this week the, religiosity of the season begins to ebb as we look forward to the secular New Year, a time of hope and optimism. For me, this week is, in large part, about decompressing before the silly season begins anew. Although, we do have some last minute planning items to consider, basically our work is done and we wait for the clock to run out on 2013. We want, no, we need to savor such quiet times because they are so rare. 
The week between Christmas and New Year’s also goes by another name – Kwanzaa. Kwanzaa is a uniquely American holiday, designed to help black Americans reconnect with their African cultural and historical heritage. Unlike Christmas and Chanukah, however, which have been around for centuries, Kwanzaa was only created in 1966, so it is really young as far as holidays go. Unfortunately, because of its relative youth, it is often overlooked in the mad rush of all the other holidays celebrated this time of year. So, to all my friends who observe, Happy Kwanzaa!
That being said, at this point, I would like to declare the ongoing holiday greeting debate a draw (until next year, of course) “Happy Holidays!” “Season’s Greetings!” “Merry Christmas!” “Happy Chanukah!” “Happy Kwanzaa!” Should we care how we greet the season? The universal message at this time of year is about peace and love and family and cultural identity and pride – what could be bad? This year, my holiday card said to the world “Whatever Your Holiday – Enjoy!” Isn’t that what it’s all about?
Soon enough comes January with its dreary dark days and, for those of us in the accounting profession, the stresses of tax and audit season. But for now, let’s enjoy the remaining holiday season and look forward to 2014 – a year that will certainly have its challenges, of course, but also plenty of opportunity.
From my colleagues and family to you and yours, may 2014 be a wonderful, happy, peaceful, prosperous and above all, meaningful year for us all. Happy 2014!
