SEASONAL FAV

The Special Meaning Of A Christmas Orange.

During the Great Depression, most families didn't have much money. Unemployment rates were becoming exceedingly high and with families unable to purchase food, stores were having a difficult time keeping their shelves stocked. With the combined events, food was becoming scarce. Also, as you can imagine, items like candy and toys were rare. Fresh fruit was also considered a luxury item.

With very little means to buy gifts, something that would provide nourishment to the body as well as the soul would have been every parent's wish for their children. Hence the idea or birth of the "Christmas Orange". The scent of a fresh orange would have been such a treat; but with a sweet taste to accompany that bright smell, an orange would have been a little miracle in itself.

So while we celebrate this special time of year there are two things we

invite each of you to think about. The first being your personal family history. As you know this time of year is about being together with family and friends, but there are many family members and friends that are no longer with us physically. As we look to our past we can view the sweet times of when those individuals were living. We can also find a greater appreciation of our present time and have a renewed faith in our future.

The second thing we invite you to do is to think about what you're grateful for and then tell someone about those things. To help with this you may want to get a piece of paper and a pen. Look around you right now and identify 5 things that you're grateful for. As you do this you may come up with more than 5 things. I know that as you do this exercise you will feel happier. I know this because I've done it and it is such a sweet feeling.