EDITORIAL:

Two days until Christmas. You can feel it, can’t you? Houses lit up with multicolored lights, nativity scenes here and there, the smell of pine trees, shoppers milling about.

Best of all, people, in the true spirit of the holiday, seem to soften up a bit.

Well, most of them.

Or at least a lot of them (and not the ones shoving each other aside at the local shopping venues for that special something).

These are the delights of our most popular American holiday.

And it doesn’t much matter whether you’re Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, atheist or any of the lesser-known faiths. The spirit of Christmas pervades and perseveres.

We at the Daily Pilot wish a happy holiday to readers of all faiths, or non-faiths, for that matter.

We also encourage everyone to extend the spirit of giving and kindness throughout the year, for these qualities should not be reserved for Dec. 25.

Looking forward to 2008, how about we treat each other with a Christmasy sort of selflessness and a giving spirit? How about we become more tolerant when it comes to local issues and larger ones?

How about come, say, February, we remember the lessons of December?

In other words, how about we put aside our Grinchiness for those 11 other months of the year?

Corny?

You got it, but it just might be the ticket.

Besides, it’s the holidays — if one can’t show sentiment, what’s the point?

True to that thought, Daily Pilot staff members are offering their personalized greetings to you, our valued readers, on our website at www.dailypilot.com/video.

Check it out for a dose of good cheer.