By today, the hustle and bustle of the Christmas shopping season has, hopefully, diminished just a bit. Today is a day to spend with family and friends.
If you haven't already attended a Christmas Eve service at the church of your choice, today is a day to take time to attend a Christmas Day service, pausing to reflect on the true meaning of the Christmas season.
Today is also a day to remember the thousands of U.S. troops stationed around the world, especially those from our own Minot Air Force Base. Many members of our armed forces are spending today as they spent yesterday and as they will spend tomorrow thousands of miles away from families and friends. No doubt troops will mark Christmas Day in their own way, but it surely won't be in the traditional way, gathered around the living room with family, enjoying homemade goodies and sharing stories of holidays past.
Today is a day to spend watching children of all ages enjoy the shiny, new presents they opened last night or this morning.
Today is also a day to remember those less fortunate than us. There are several gift programs in Minot, and today there are hundreds of children and adults enjoying Christmas presents and a holiday dinner thanks to the generosity of everyone in the Minot area. We urge you to remember those programs again next year.
We also know today that while many flood victims have returned to their homes or have found new homes, there are still displaced area residents celebrating Christmas in different locations than traditionally, because of ongoing recovery efforts. Some are at the homes of family or friends today, while others are opening Christmas presents in temporary housing. We continue to remember all flood victims as they work toward full recovery from the 2011 disaster.
From the entire staff of The Minot Daily News, Merry Christmas.