There's just something about traditions that almost defies explanation. Though we may consider dogs and cats as creatures of habit but we are, too. Christmas is a special time of year for countless people worldwide. Although the central message is to celebrate the birth of Jesus who changed the world in many ways, Christmas is far more complex than that. Although highly commercialized it's also filled with traditions.

Some people hate holidays and do not recognize the tradition within it. Sometimes this can be the result of a mental connection to an unpleasant memory of the past. More people die during the holidays from disease, old age or by their own hand than any other time of year. It's difficult for most to imagine the sad memories stirred up year after year in those who losing a beloved relative or friend on Christmas Eve or Christmas day.

When we suddenly lost father in November 1985 just as the holidays were beginning, a wonderful aunt tried to console me saying "It takes you about a year to get over it." But after all these years we still haven't completely gotten over it, and in many ways you never do. There were Saturdays and evenings when we did various projects together at home. When I stand in our garage, I can look up and see all the work we did together to build this home in 1982. Yet it doesn't seem like 27 years have passed.

Traditions come in many forms. My father owned an alarm business in the seventies and eighties before everything went wireless. He died while in the middle of getting a system ready to install for a customer. On many Saturdays I went and helped him do rough-in wiring work to install the alarm systems he designed. Every now and then on a store window I come across his Radar Alarms company sticker. Working with him was a tradition of sorts. Whenever anyone needed help he traditionally gave it freely, even to neighbors he hardly knew on his street. It was just the right thing to do.

Another important aspect about the holidays is the social perspective. For those who have family or others not living alone, it is the anticipation of bringing loved ones and friends together to open presents and getting stuffed eating a wonderful dinner. But for those without family and friends Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years can be very depressing and cannot be over with soon enough.

It's very important to reach out to those who are alone any way we can ­ doing so can literally save their life. Every single human being needs something to do, a reason to live and a chance to be loved and to love someone else. Take those things away the very foundations of a reason to live crumble. Suicidal thoughts can take overoften leading to the very act itself. Helping the needy, lonely, sick and house-bound all year round whenever possible is also a family tradition.

You'll notice that many of the happiest people in the world are often the poorest. All they have left is love to make them happy. Material things are not important to the poor. These people are often the most spiritual people you'll ever meet. Jesus was dirt poor and he didn't have a home to call his after he became an adult. No cars, RVs, tents or appliance boxes to sleep in. Roman historians wrote about how Jesus and his followers wore tattered and ragged clothes, often begging for food.

Consider that being poor never stopped Jesus from doing his work.

So what stops us from helping others, especially those who can readily afford to do so?

A large batch of scratch-made biscuits was made on Christmas Day. As soon as they come out of the oven and slightly cooled, we put them into a disposable container, wrapped them in a towel and immediately took them to the serving line in a homeless shelter. Home made biscuits are very easy to make and bring many smiles to hungry people.

Western countries (and in recent years now eastern countries) have become more materialistic than ever before. Today we live in a highly connected wireless-everything world. Everywhere you ever see adults and children transfixed to cell phones and video games. It's difficult to comprehend billions of hours people are wasting tinkering with these devices.

How can there be any time left to help others or enjoying family traditions if electronic devices occupy all of your spare time? There are still only 24 hours in a day!

Regardless of one's personal religious beliefs, holiday traditions like Christmas are extremely important to us as human beings. Time away from jobs, cares and worries of the world is equally important as taking a vacation whenever possible. In fact, time with families is better than a vacation. One reason is that vacations tend to be isolated events away from friends and relatives.

There is something about snowmen, reindeer, Santa Claus, tacky indoor and outdoor lights, lighted displays and snow that call to the child still inside each of us. It beckons us back to a simpler time in our lives. Each year my mother takes down a mirror and puts up a Currier and Ives painting in the living room along with her other decorations. It depicts a snow-covered town in the Victorian era with numerous people ice-skating while more snow falls on the scene. You can stare at it for quite a while trying to grasp every little detail within it. It brings you back to a far simpler time which was harder in some ways yet easier in others.

Renditions of Christmas songs by artists like Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra and others convey a message for the holidays rarely expressed by today's singers. They are part of our American culture we have shared with the world. Much of the world has appreciated the work of these artists, too. These songs are full of make-believe, but it's a good thing for our minds to escape the cold political and economic reality we live in.

Once upon a time in America people were actually happy deep inside, and it showed. They often smiled and did favors for those in need. Walk down most streets today in any city and people look like they've been beaten sideways with a stick. And indeed they have, by multiple virtual sticks. Sticks with labels like job stress, job loss, crashed economy, crime, vanishing moral values in society, etc.... Traditions give us a respite from the troubles in our lives, even if the relief lasts just days.

So the next time you find yourself reflecting on the commercialization of the holidays, focus instead on the coming quality time with friends and family, and needed relief from the cares of the world.

We all need traditions and periodic vacations from life with cell phones turned off, even if these respites last just a day or two.

Ted Twietmeyer