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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? subscribe | newsletter | deals Home News Latest Stories Victorious Raiders parade trophy through downtown Ashland State police search for pursuit suspect near Hyatt Lake Police Reports Cheering on the champs Ashland's Safeway part of Haggen acquisition Education For a friend: AHS seniors team up to help former fellow student Ashland builds a bridge across the STEM gap Chicken pox hits Ashland Middle School AHS speech and debate team to compete in Medford Ashland: Lions Club steps up for vision tests Environment New TAP pumps bolster Ashland's options Most residents speak against gas pipeline proposed for Southern Oregon Home Help: Make your new house feel like home ‘Tis the season — for wild mushrooms Business Ashland's Safeway part of Haggen acquisition The Playwright pub will be serving again Saturday Mt. 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SOU tops Marian in NAIA football finals High school Shibley-Styer, Malcolm lead Grizzlies to comeback win over Henley Feinberg scores 17 in Grizz loss Grizzlies tripped up late in tourney loss to Ridgeview Grizzlies' comeback attempt falls short against Mazama Ashland girls win three duals in home swim meet Southern Oregon University Raiders bring it home Weber's triple-double help SOU men survive OT thriller For fans who made trip, title game special Cheering on the champs Shibley-Styer, Malcolm lead Grizzlies to comeback win over Henley Opinion Latest Stories Herb Rothschild Jr.: The Christmas spirit Our View: Good news this week The vaccination deniers Granlund cartoon: Christmas season Matthew T. Mangino: The future of the death penalty in question? 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Herb Rothschild Jr.: Fight Zionist suppression Guest Opinion: Life — and death — by choice Guest Opinion: The environmental tipping point Revels Latest Stories Dancing People Company celebrates the Winter Solstice 4 Things to do this weekend Listings for Varsity Theatre and Ashland Street Cinemas Best Bets: Dec. 18-24 'Homesman' plays grit and despair perfectly Theater ACT presents reading of 'The Quality of Life' Putting the music into 'A Christmas Carol' Meet the real Jacob Marley Music Rating old-timers’ albums from 2014 SOU presents all-percussion concert Visual Art Ashland's First Friday Art Walk showcases new exhiits by regional artists Movies Movie review: This ‘Museum’ entry should be closed to the public Listings for Varsity Theatre and Ashland Street Cinemas 'Homesman' plays grit and despair perfectly Movie review: Exiting Middle-earth with a triumphant flourish Movie review: A captivating film about a girl gone ‘Wild’ Food and Drink Cruelest Month: Poetry Blog Lifestyle Latest Stories Looking Up: The stars from the North Pole Suzette Martinez Standring: Christmas light reflections Health Watch: Change up your treadmill workout In Good Faith: Fallen angels Marketta Gregory: Advent calendar Aging Happens Inner Peace Column Inner Peace Blog Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » Obituaries Photos Videos Blogs NEWS NOW Victorious Raiders parade trophy through downtown Ashland ... State police search for pursuit suspect near Hyatt Lake ... Raiders bring it home ... Victorious Raiders parade trophy through downtown Ashland ... State police search for pursuit suspect near Hyatt Lake ... Raiders bring it home ... RELOCATIONS Herb Rothschild Jr.: The Christmas spirit Comment DailyTidings.com Writer Posted Dec. 20, 2014 @ 12:01 am Posted Dec. 20, 2014 @ 12:01 am » Social News The Christmas holidays impose on my consciousness when I begin receiving gift catalogues in our mailbox. But their spirit enters me when I chance to hear strains of Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker. If your child took ballet lessons, as my daughter did, you can share my experience. No matter how small the dance school, it staged The Nutcracker before Christmas. And chances are that the first time your child performed publicly was as a mouse or a snowflake or a page to the Prince. My wife and I like dance, and frequently attended performances of the Houston Ballet. We didn’t go to any of its annual performances of The Nutcracker, though, until the year my oldest son and his wife brought their two daughters over from Louisiana when it was being staged. It was an opportunity I had long anticipated. Mei and Ainsley are close in age. On that occasion they were about 10, a wonderful age for girls. My wife took them out to buy velvet dresses, one black, one burgundy, white lace collars and patent leather shoes, de rigueur dress for this dressy occasion. Thus attired, they entered the dazzling Wortham Theater, with its sweeping staircase up to the grand lobby, then on to our seats and the performance. They loved it. I loved it because they did. I’m disinclined to make judgments about the way the Christmas holidays are celebrated in our country, or to tell people how they should celebrate. The commercial dimension looms ever larger and many decry it, arguing that the spiritual has been overwhelmed by the material. But the spirit won’t manifest itself simply because we don’t allow the material to preoccupy us. Earlier cultures told their members what life’s meanings are and how to appropriate them. Long ago that applied to Christmas, but not now. Even for those who call themselves Christians, the admonition “Put Christ back in your Christmas” is unlikely to bring the desired results. As with every aspect of our lives, so with the holidays we are on our own in finding meaning. And there is no guarantee that we will. People speak of holiday depression, but the holidays aren’t the cause, only the occasion. Actually, for most people, the spirit finds expression in and through the material — a shared meal, a thoughtful gift for a dear one. For me, what is special about Ashland’s annual Abundance Swap is not its repudiation of material excess, which spurred Jeff Golden to establish it 14 years ago. My attendance doesn’t deter me from buying other gifts. Rather, I cherish the Abundance Swap as an occasion when Ashland manifests its extraordinary social conscience in and through a particular kind of material exchange. Music is the least material of vehicles, and therefore perhaps the one best suited to carry the spirit. For a surprisingly large number of people, a sing-along performance of Handel’s Messiah is the highlight of their season. For more, it’s outdoor caroling. For still others, it’s the music in their churches. All these experiences retain their vitality no matter how much the starting time of Black Friday is moved forward. I suspect that what is finally determinative is not so much the event, but the memories it summons. Nothing can overcome the loneliness of lovelessness except experiences of loving and having been loved in return. If no aspect of the holidays recalls such experiences, the holly and the mistletoe aren’t going to hold out the promise of renewal amidst the winter chill. We’ll have to search elsewhere. Herb Rothschild Jr. is chairman of the board of Peace House. DailyTidings.com Writer Posted Dec. 20, 2014 @ 12:01 am » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. calendar Connect with DailyTidings.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Alerts Email alerts RSS feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Your privacy is important, read our privacy policy. © Copyright 2014 Local Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 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