OK, so this makes three in a row about the December holidays, but I have an excuse! Between our fabulous news-gathering Chino and our new arrival Jon Adams, I have less incentive to focus this space on the news, and more reason to focus on the personal stories people post about their lives. On that note, please don’t forget to nominate your friends’ posts and your own for the Brodies!! This is our opportunity to recognize and highlight the best of LDS-interest blogspace for the past year, and if you don’t nominate your favorite pieces, you can’t be sure someone else will!

That business out of the way, I can’t tell you how much it warmed my atheist heart to read about all how all of you celebrated the holidays — with or without your families — this past week!! I want to start with Christmas carols! This one, I think was the biggest winner for Internet viral favorite, but there were some great runners-up here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.

We also had some beautiful images of the festive season.

Then there were so many tales of how we celebrated with our families and friends! Most of them were warm and wonderful: here, here, here, here, and here. Full of traditions!!! (see also here and here.) Some were a little more challenging. It’s been a time for reflection. And I think Cognitive Dissenter really summed up the what the Christmas spirit means to me:

What little Johnny will never forget about Christmas morning 2010 is his mothers warm embrace. Hell remember that she wasnt too busy putting together a flawless Christmas dinner to spend a little time reading his new story book with him. Little Johnny wont give a rats ass about how much money his father spent on that cheap plastic sled. But he will never forget how his daddy sat behind him on a bit of fire-engine red magic and held him tightly while they flew all of twelve feet down a hill. Johnny will remember that exhilarating ride until the day he dies.

That said, I hope you and your family followed this great gift guide!

This holiday season was brightened by a lunar eclipse that many of our community incorporated into their celebration! Not to mention another highly questionable Christmas miracle…

I don’t want to be the Festivus Grinch, but I’m too full of warm fuzzies to air the traditional grievances, or to worry about the true meaning of the holiday season (and especially not to worry further about the war on Christmas). (So is Santa real, or what?) Though I welcome reflections on charity.

So Merry Christmas, and Happy all those other Holidays you’re celebrating this season!!!