To the Editor:

Love. It’s just a four-letter word. But in those four letters, there is a great deal to learn. L stands for love. O stands for “oh my.” There aren’t many words that begin with V. And E stands for “everyone should be happy during the holiday season.”

This brings me to the question of this letter: Is Christmas even special? Well, the short answer to that question is that “yes”; it obviously is. Otherwise, why would all of our malls be playing Christmas music? Why would Amazon.com put a wreath on its logo? These two examples alone clearly demonstrate the holiday’s significance.

But why is it special? If we’re going to be honest with ourselves, part of the reason we like Christmas is that we receive presents.

Although many people like to pretend that they do not care about presents out of concerns of being perceived as materialistic, we need to be honest with ourselves during the holiday season.

I am an honest man and I like presents. Nobody in this world dislikes presents, even when they receive something they have no use for.

The worst-case scenario is that you receive something you do not want, but you can simply throw that away and then you’re in the same situation that you were to begin with. For example, last year my uncle bought me a shower radio. I was slightly disappointed by this gift because not only do I not listen to the radio, but I also very rarely shower.

I still said “thank you” even though I was not particularly grateful. I have always believed that it is important to be polite. However, in my mind I thought, “Who even listens to the radio these days?” Uncles can be so silly sometimes.

But my point is that, although I did not gain anything valuable from this gift, it is not as if I lost anything in the process either. I hope this explanation has clarified my perspective on the matter.

You might be wondering, “But what else makes Christmas special, Robin?”

Well, it is mostly about the joy of presents, as I literally just explained. It is important to pay close attention to my words.

But the holiday is not solely about presents. This is a very unique position that is not often articulated. In addition to presents, Christmas is about that four-letter word this piece began with: love. If you recall, I have already provided you with what each of those letters stands for.

A cynic might ask, “Robin, who needs love when there is so much evil in this world?”

It is true that terrible things happen all the time. Allow me to provide you with two examples. Murder occurs far too often, and it is always senseless. Money-laundering should never be tolerated. We need to take a stand against it.

However, even in a world with murder and money-laundering, we still need love (in addition to presents), especially during the holiday season. I will leave you with that thought. 

Merry Christmas,

Robin Otto Rice

Albany