Movies during the holidays Published Jan. 1, 2009 By Master Sgt. Harold Von De Bur 932nd Chaplain's Office SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. -- Christmas time is my favorite movie season. There are so many classic movies that never fail to touch something deep inside of me. Irving Berlin's "White Christmas" and Frank Capra's "It's A Wonderful Life" are treasures to be watched at least once if not twice, not to mention all of the great animated specials. Dickens' "A Christmas Carol," however, was never, until recently, one of my favorites. It took me many years to wrap myself around Mr. Scrooge and his transformation from bitter curmudgeon to a happy and joyful human being. At the end, Dickens said of Scrooge, "that he knew how to keep Christmas well..." And I had to ponder- what is the difference between celebrating Christmas and keeping Christmas well? A celebration is a short-term event, usually lasting from a day to a couple of weeks at the most. Then it's over and the decorations, the sentiments, and the reason for the festivities are gone until next year. Scrooge, however, learned to "keep Christmas." That implies that it didn't get put away on Dec. 26or27, not even on Jan. 6. Old Scrooge helped people, smiled, was friendly and, in general, became a person that went from hating everyone to loving everyone. Are we willing to 'keep Christmas'? Are we willing to remember that care and concern for others needs to happen every day? To remember that we probably don't know all of the issues other people are coping with? Are we willing to put the needs of others before our wants and needs; to try and understand the wants and needs of our families without having them tell us? To believe that love is stronger than hate, apathy, evil, and death, and by practicing love, we can bring a little more brightness into the world we live in and share with others. If we can do these things then we can "keep Christmas." If we can do these things for a day, why not a week, a month, or all year round? As it was with Scrooge, so may it be with us-and in the immortal words of Tiny Tim, "May God bless us, every one."