'Tis the season... to have mixed feelings. Celebrations: Christmas, Ramadan, Channukah, Kwanzaa, Winter Solstice, New Year's Day. Misery: stress of shopping; stress of not being able to shop; stress from the family; stress from being separated from family; stress from the weather; stress from being out in the weather.

This is a sharing of poems, stories and links about all of those cultures and aspects, from myself and friends at Real Change and other street newspapers and writing groups.

As the writer Spider Robinson says, "Shared joy is increased; shared sorrow is decreased." Let us share both...

I also have links to forums where you can post your own stories, or you can leave comments in my guestbook. Many of the artists and writers posted here — including me — also have email.

Please check out my other holiday pages, too, or my links to other special holiday pages.