A glance back at Christmas--

Christmas is my favorite holiday--along with Halloween and Thanksgiving, and New Year's...gee, seems I generally like most of holidays doesn't it?--Something about being festive and eating and drinking, yes definitely good drinks...whatever--I love Christmas because it is beautiful and magical and a time when we all try to be something extraordinary: good to others and joyful and filled with a sense of hope--not that we aren't good generally, or happy (not usually joyful, though, are we?), or hopeful, but something about Christmas nurtures kindnesses big and small and asks us to believe in things beyond us, and take joy in even the tiniest things--a moment, a smile from a stranger, the cap of snow on a fire hydrant, the smell of fir and pine--and then of course, there is the shopping, and the transformation of towns and cities into festive yuletide villages or jazzed-up cosmopolitan centers full of holiday sparkle--the tree lightings and great windows in department stores--One thing I have always wanted to do was spend Christmas in New york, a magical city any time of year--I will one day, but until then, my friend Marie B. sent me this narrated slideshow by the NY Times' wonderful Bill Cunningham--it is a real treat-- http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2008/12/27/fashion/20091227-street-feature/index.html#