the holidays have arrived. a time to stop, reflect, buy gifts to spur the economy, eat, and send greetings to the ones that matter in addition to the new ones that have entered your life. It is like this each year, the music is the same, bells and songs of snow are easily found and you get a chance to count on a time when, if your lucky, a family gathers in a warm house and food and drinks mingle with familiar smells and taste. gifts and best wishes traded among one another in an annual tradition. a break from the monotany of the other days. and a chance to share in the gifts, temporarily.

if your in the savannah of africa, and happen to be a baby tiger, or a birds egg up in a tree, these holidays do not mark or change life. everything is still stalking you, hyaenas, snakes, scorpions, there is no peace to be found. hunt or be hunted, each night filled with survival in the front of their mind. no chance to hide behind mom as she is out hunting, alone in the bush you hide, your cries only bringing predators closer. the morning might offer reprise, maybe.

if your in a war zone or trying to escape a terrible situation in your country the holidays exasperate an already tough year. a reminder of how things have ended up in turmoil. unable to be with certain family members, scared and confused, simply putting one foot in front of the other is a challenge much less the path left for them to go. In foreign lands with few foes, the choices of worse and not so awful guide people towards what they hope is a welcoming situation. perhaps briefly society welcomes them in and shares the warmth today, perhaps.