Holiday heresy Published Dec. 16, 2009 By Chaplain (Maj.) Linda Olson Office of the Wing Chaplain TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- Christmas catalogues are flowing into our mailbox like confetti at a ticker tape parade. We got on someone's list and now the recycling bin is brimming with glossy printed pages telling us what to buy and how much we'll save if we do buy - that never made sense to me. This year, Christmas will be just as it always is for us since we decided to opt out of the commercial rush. Christmas Eve will be celebrated at a chapel service and Christmas music will fill the house. A few decorations will appear. We will happily spend time with family and look up friends we have not seen in awhile. A gift or two might be exchanged but we are more inclined to ignore that part of the holiday. What? How can you do that? When my husband and I were first married and quite low on income, we found ourselves "trapped" by holiday spending that left us anxious and wanting. Finally, one year as we were wandering through the mall trying to find inexpensive gifts for everyone we knew, we looked at each other and said, "This is really wrong." That was the end of our Christmas shopping and the beginning of finding new ways to spend the holidays. We've been happier around the season ever since. Heresy, you say? Yes, but some heresy is good. Inside the cover of the just-received Restoration Hardware catalog, I was pleasantly shocked to read this message from Gary Friedman, the company's chief executive officer. He wrote, "Holiday gift suggestions: To your enemy, forgiveness. To an opponent, tolerance. To a friend, your heart. To a customer, service. To all, charity. To every child, a good example. To yourself, respect." If you give these gifts, they won't break your budget and will alter the hearts of many for the better. Isn't that really what this season is about?