I have always loved the works of William Shakespeare. To me, he was the greatest writer ever lived. He made his comedies comedies, romance tragic, history come to live, and his sonnets consist of one of the most beautiful verses ever encountered.

Thus when I saw that the Philharmonic Orchestra is putting up a performance of Felix Mendelssohn's Midsummer Night's Dream, I decided to go. What better combination than great music to a great play, performed by a great orchestra?

And I was not let down. The music made the entire play come to live, coupled with the fact that there is a very good narrator who played all the roles single-handedly. He captured the essence of the Fairy King Oberon, the four young adults - Lysander and Hermia who were running away, Demetrius who loved Hermia and pursued her and Helena who loved Demetrius and pursued him. Most importantly, he brought out the character of Puck - the mischevious little elf who created havoc before everything was restored.

The music started off soothing, then the vivacity of the chase around the enchanted woods, culminating in the grand Wedding March at the end. Through it all, I was captivated. The essence of Christmas is in the air. A Midsummer Night's Dream is about magic and merry-making. Isn't this what Christmas is all about? Magic and merry-making, love and forgiveness, not the commercialism everyone has reduced it to.

This Christmas I wish to remember all who holds dear to me, that I can show more of my love to those whom I have neglected!

I'm leaving for Japan tomorrow morning. While the rest of you will be in sunny (or rainy) weather, I will be freezing my buns off in snowy weather. In any case, have a Merry Christmas and a happy New Year ahead!

Christmas is for children. But it is for grownups too. Even if it is a headache, a chore, and nightmare, it is a period of necessary defrosting of chill and hide-bound hearts. ~ Lenora Mattingly Weber

But I am sure that I have always thought of Christmas time, when it has come round... as a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time; the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely. ~ Charles Dickens from "A Christmas Carol"

For centuries men have kept an appointment with Christmas. Christmas means fellowship, feasting, giving and receiving, a time of good cheer, home. ~ W. J. Tucker

And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled 'till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store? What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more? ~ Dr Seuss

Best of all, Christmas means a spirit of love, a time when the love of God and the love of our fellow men should prevail over all hatred and bitterness, a time when our thoughts and deeds and the spirit of our lives manifest the presence of God. ~ George F. McDougall

Christmas is love in action. Every time we love, every time we give, it's Christmas. ~ Dale Evans Rogers

Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love. ~ Hamilton Wright Mable