Clinton Township Newsletter

3 d e c e m b e r 2 0 2 4 'Tis the season! Actually, it's not for me yet because, as I'm writing this, it's early November and we haven't even celebrated Thanksgiving yet. I've been fully immersed in this Christmas issue while decorating for Fall, experiencing summer weather, celebrating Halloween, going through the election, dealing with our local drought, and planning our Thanksgiving family celebration. The big box stores are right along with the timing of this issue though, because I hear Christmas and holiday music anytime I step foot into one of them. I will be completely on board with Christmas just as soon as Thanksgiving is over and, I'm hoping that by the time you are reading this, you are feeling the spirit of the season too! Working on each issue two months or so before the actual issue- month always puts me in a bit of a mind-twist. Often our readers will tell me about an event we've listed that they've just attended, and I really have to stop and try to get my mind into the correct month – this is why I often miss those events myself! This works in my favor though when I'm working on the March or April issues in the dead of winter, and thinking about all of the greenery to come... This issue is packed full of so many great local holiday activities! Dickens Days in downtown Clinton, live Nativities, Santa is everywhere (but how can that be?!), the lighting of the Christmas Tree in Clinton, Menorah lightings, Chanukah on Ice, Drinks & Dreidels, The Clinton Nutcracker, Jingle & Mingle at Mane Stream, Christmas Villages, Dutch Sint-Nicolaas Day at the Bouman-Stickney Farmstead, and much more! As for this month's cover, my proofreader (Hi Mom!) questioned the spelling of "Hanukah". Years ago on one of our December covers, I put "Merry Christmas & Happy Hannukah!", and then, after it went to print, I apologized to Rabbi Eli for spelling Hanukkah incorrectly. He said, ' "That's okay, there are actually 24 different ways to spell "Hanukkah!" ' (Or, Chanukah, Hannukah, Chanuka, Chanukkah, Hanuka, Channukah, Chanukka... ) I do know that both Christmas and Hanukkah fall on the 25th of this month, so that's easy to remember. And let's not forget Kwanzaa, for our residents who celebrate this holiday, which starts on December 26th. The seven principles of Kwanzaa are unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity, and faith. I think these are things that we should all work towards having, don't you? No matter which holiday you celebrate this month, I hope yours is full of grace. –Julie Flynn DAYS TO KEEP IN MIND Sun Dec 1 World AIDS Day Mon Dec 2 Cyber Monday Tues Dec 2 Giving Tuesday Tues Dec 3 International Day of Persons with Disabilities Wed Dec 4 Wildlife Conservation Day Thurs Dec 5 International Volunteer Day Sat Dec 7 Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day Sun Dec 8 Feast of the Immaculate Conception Sat Dec 21 Winter Solstice Sat Dec 21 Look On The Bright Side (!) Day Tues Dec 24 Christmas Eve Wed Dec 25 Christmas Day Wed Dec 25 Hanukkah Thurs Dec 26 Kwanzaa Thurs Dec 26 Boxing Day Sat Dec 28 Pledge of Allegiance Day December 29, 1890: The Battle of Wounded Knee, nearly 300 Lakota people shot and killed by soldiers of the US Army near Wounded Knee Creek on the Lakota Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota Tues Dec 31 New Year's Eve from Carol Beder's

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