Marine Corps Base Quantico -- By the time you read this article, the menorahs will be put away and the trees will be taken down. However, while the holiday season is still fresh in our minds, I think it is a good time to reflect back on it, as I have some thoughts on it I would like to share.

The Gorman family does not celebrate Christmas. Our holiday during that time of year is Hanukkah. Hanukkah has gained much fame and notoriety due to its proximity to Christmas. Despite that fame and notoriety, it is number 12 on the top ten list of important Jewish holidays.

Even though it is not my holiday, I have wonderful memories of Christmas from my days living in New York City. It was a delight to bundle up, go down to Rockefeller Center to see the Christmas tree, get some roasted chestnuts, and walk up and down 5th Avenue. New York City looks different at this time of year. People smile more. There is a wonderful feeling in the air. It is not the holiday of every New Yorker, but every New Yorker shares in the joy of the time period.

Over the last several years, we have been witness to concerted efforts to ban some of the displays similar to those we see at Rockefeller Center. The primary concern has been religious displays on public property. The legal challenges to such displays have been based on 1st Amendment concerns, with the understanding that this piece of our Constitution guarantees both freedom of religion and freedom from religion.

Putting the legal questions aside, I firmly believe that a Christmas tree and a menorah both belong on public property. This is not a statement that the government supports one religion over another, or that the government believes we should all have some religion. Such statements would be quite problematic. Rather, it is a statement from the government that we are neighbors. We live together. We share in each other’s difficult times, and we share in each other’s joyous times. We can be happy for others even when it is not our holiday. Moreover, these displays are a statement that we will not commit murder and mayhem because someone’s beliefs are different from our own. These displays are a reminder of the mosaic that is the United States.

May we all walk away from this holiday period refreshed, rejuvenated, and able to appreciate the joy of our neighbors even when the reasons for our joy are different.