Cynthia Clay explores why we do all this eating and shopping at this time of year. She finds that that giving gifts bestows meaning and healing to the giver even when the giver did not expect any such reward. Even at its simplest, giving a little gift to someone bestows on the giver the joy of making a happy moment for another person. There is something of the sublime and mystical in that, that’s the long and short of it. Merry Holidays to one and to all.