Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

To all who celebrate Christmas, a very merry Christmas to you, and may Santa Claus bring every good desire of your heart.

To all who have celebrated Chanukah, the dark of the year (winter solstice and dark of the moon of Kislev, when Chanukah began) is past, and we may look forward to Tu b’Shvat’s promise of growth and Passover’s promise of redemption.

To all, including my friends who are Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim, Bahai, and (we’ll say) provisionally independent, you may want to read the cover article in this week’s San Diego Reader, a colloquy (via email) by Matthew Lickona and myself.

Coming soon: “Process vs. Product” and comments on Pullman’s “His Dark Materials” trilogy.

I wish everyone a happy, healthy, peaceful, and illuminating new year.