For many of us, the holiday season is the best time of the year. Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Christ and an opportunity for everyone to exchange gifts, decorate their living spaces, eat great food and spend time with friends and family.

However, the season does have its minor annoyances. While it is fun to decorate the tree, inevitably the light strings become a tangled mess despite your best efforts to put them away neatly the previous year. And, even though you test the lights before you put them on the tree, there is always one light string that does not work, which you always find out about after all of the other decorations have been put on. This also happens with outdoor displays, especially ones where heights and ladders are involved.

Other not-so-fun aspects of the season include overspending, hard-to-wrap presents with odd shapes, gifts that must be put together, radio stations that play Christmas music too early, Christmas displays at the stores before Halloween, the dreaded ugly sweater party and shopping in mall crowds. There are also people who are impossible to shop for, and occasionally there's that awkward moment when someone has bought you a gift, but you did not buy one for them in return.

However, while Christmas brings stresses and challenges, it also is a time for cherished moments like opening presents on Christmas morning, driving through the neighborhood to see the Christmas lights and trekking through the Christmas tree farm to find the perfect tree. During the holiday season, people can donate to local organizations in need like Toys for Tots, the Salvation Army and local food cupboards. These opportunities bring out people's sense of generosity and kindness.

Plus, Christmas makes us feel warm and joyful. Christmas means the smell of fresh evergreens and candles, candy canes, gingerbread men, holly and bright red poinsettias. Local churches have live Nativity displays and schools present Christmas concerts. There are Christmas cookies to eat, new toys for the kids to play with and, if we're lucky, a fresh layer of snow to add to the atmosphere.

I remember one Christmas morning attending Sunday Mass at my church. Rather than preaching a homily, which is a sermon or message, the priest had the congregation sing "Silent Night" instead. Everyone stood up and sang, men and women, young and old, and even those who with not-so-perfect voices who generally remain quiet. It was a poignant Christmas moment. In fact, it made me realize that my least-favorite part of the holiday season is not the decorating, shopping and gift-giving challenges - the worst part is that it comes to an end.