Call me old-fashioned, but Christmas, especially here in Hawaii, is one of my number-one, ichiban, best-ever holiday. While in much of the world, it's only one day, in Hawaii, it lasts a month or more to the New Year. 

Christmas begins around Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving holiday in Hawaii being more of a thanks giving for the Christmas holidays. Next comes Christmas shopping. Welcoming the humpback whales back to Hawaii. Volunteering with your favorite charity. Watching Santa come to Hawaii on an outrigger canoe. Checking out the Festival of Lights at Honolulu Hale, where the rest of the year the city/county government officials work, is decked out in lights. Santa, sporting a shaka with Ms. Claus and little Klaus sitting beside him. Reindeer. A nativity. Thirty or more christmas trees inside the he main building, each decorated by a different city/county department. "Mele Kalikimaka (Merry Christmas)!"

Christmas day is quiet. Ohana (family). it's a time for gift-giving, irrespective of religion or country of origin, and a family dinner. We often decorate a coconut tree, and trim it with images cut out of last year's christmas cards. The nutcracker ballet. The Parade of Lights just before New Years, which is as big a holiday as Christmas day. 

Here's hoping your Christmas and New Year was as wonderful as ours in Hawaii. 

Sincerely,
Dan and Betty