I’d wish you happy holidays, but I already did that, and really there’s only the one right now, so for celebrants, Merry Christmas!

The Solstice has passed us, the light is returning. May you find something bright in the darkness and warm in the cold of winter (or I guess refreshing in the depths of summer, if you’re in opposite land!)

I am going to celebrate with the true tradition of my ancestors. I’m eating boar.

I didn’t have to stab it myself, which is a pretty nice bonus of living in the modern era. I’m thankful for a pocket full of all human knowledge, indoor plumbing, and the ability to pay someone else to humanely provide me with meat.

I hope you are surrounded by loved ones, no matter what you celebrate, and that your table talk is never anything more than educational, empathetic, and peaceful. For those who know going in that it won’t be that, and haven’t decided to find another table to grace, here’s a great drink I think you might like. Pairs well with the need to consume a lot of alcohol quickly without seeming like an alcoholic.

And to my own family near and far, I’m with you all in spirit. I am sorry that so many of you are in the frozen depths of foreign countries now, when all we want to do is be near the familiar, or so close to wildfires that have been constant and terrifying, but know that I’m thinking of you, and wishing we could all be together, if the Fates only allowed.

Merry Christmas to all, be safe, merry, and bright!