“May your days be merry and bright” – and the completion of that line, as we all know is, “and may all your Christmases be white.”

Penned by Irving Berlin, this song reminisces on white Christmases of yore, “just like the ones I used to know,” the lyrics reflect wistfully.

Well, here in Alabama, our white Christmases are few and far between, and although there is a chance of snowfall this Christmas Eve, treetops glistening with snow isn’t necessarily our wish for you.

We do, however, hope your days will be merry and bright.

This has been an undeniably difficult year, and even the arrival of “the holidays” can’t erase the struggles we have faced, both individually as well as collectively as a community.

Despite this truth, we here at the Franklin County Times are hopeful for better days ahead for all of us. We invite you to join us in that hopeful optimism.

“Even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise,” as Victor Hugo wrote in “Les Miserables.” Even with all the challenges 2020 has brought – chiefly, of course, the COVID-19 pandemic and everything it has caused – we can be certain tough times don’t last forever.

In a season traditionally devoted to finding greater joy, to being thankful and generous and eager for the days ahead, let’s raise a glass – a cup of good cheer, if you will – to the hope for a happier horizon.

Since March it has sometimes seemed we had nothing but sad news to report, from hospitalizations and deaths to school closures and event cancellations. In spite of that, we know good has come from this year, and we know good will come in the years ahead.

Christmas present is here today, bringing joy that lasts.

As you go through your holiday season, we hope you find that joy that lasts. Even if you’re not getting to enjoy all the traditions that usually accompany the holiday season – whether you’re mourning the Christmas parades or reluctantly canceling you family gathering – let’s look on the bright side.

We know there is one.

Even the darkest night will end.

The sun will rise.

May your days be merry and bright.