No matter your background or belief system, we all share certain realities about December. We see the days getting shorter, we feel the cold increasing, we smell the foods and hear the music. We feel the weight of our past and of tradition, for good and/or ill. Yet the glory of humanity is that even as we all face the same seasonal realities, every person, family, group is unique. This platform will review the long history of winter holidays and explore how each of us can resist the forces seeking to herd us into a few marketable groups, and instead celebrate in ways that fulfill our unique needs.