corner view~holiday

photo by Gary Marks

I already posted a few times on our family's Christmas celebrations. Feel free to scroll back to those if you wish to see some tropical Christmas cheer here and here.  I want to take this post in another direction.

The word holiday originally meant "holy day." All around the world many holidays are celebrated, or observed. These holidays have significance and customs associated with different religions and cultures.

It's interesting that the term "holiday" is also now synonymous with "vacation."

What makes a day holy, I wonder?  An anniversary of the birth of a great being who changed the world, a day for giving thanks, a past miracle, a day for penance, a day to remember the life of a great soul. These are certainly holy events.

Maybe, in a way, every day is holy.

Sometimes we need a vacation from the busyness of our lives to remember this. A place to go for silent reflection and prayer. Maybe holidays remind us that life itself is holy. That our lives are not to be taken for granted.  That in the stillness of peace and silence we can find our hearts and regain our sense of peace.  Sometimes for me this means taking 10 minutes out of the busy day to go in my room by myself, lie down and breathe.  That's my holiday. 

There is holiness all around us at every given moment of our lives. We just have to open our eyes and hearts.