Light, Love and Peace
Sam Mugraby, Photos8.com CC via Wikimedia Commons This week, both Jews and Christians celebrate their Holy Days of Light, Love and Peace. Candles will be lit, gifts exchanged and traditional foods shared. There will be prayers and readings from scriptures, as well as the observance of ancient rituals. Followers of both religions will hope for peace. Peace seems such a distant concept these days, however. Those that strive to create it find pockets of peace in their lives and the lives of those they love, but their dreams, their hopes of peace world-wide face the gales of hate and greed. Still, they burn their candles, lighting the path they travel for themselves and those close by; they shield their candles from the treacherous winds that attempt to blow out their light. This image of candles and light, of love and peace being share is an ancient one. Many legends, myths and stories use the imagery of a candle to interpret these qualities. One of my favorite q...