About Loneliest Time of Year

When first released in 1963, the Andy Williams classic ‘The Most Wonderful Time of the Year’ enthused all things marshamalloy, mistltoey and full of good cheer. Sentiment aside, the holidays associated with the season—Hanukkah, Winter Solstice, Christmas, Kwanzaa, Three Kings Day and the New Year—are, in fact, among our most lonely. Setting aside the ambient social isolation of our media-numbed culture, for many of us the holiday experience can feel a lot like George Bailey in the throes of a life without himself.