2015-12-1 – December is the worst month of the year.

Now, before you say this is an attack on Christmas, consider this: Christmas is in December to mitigate the gloom, to give us hope at exactly the moment when the world is telling us that there is no hope.

And remember: I’m Jewish. I don’t even have Christmas to keep my December tolerable. Hanukkah doesn’t do it. It’s only a reflection of warmth. Nothing holds December at bay.

It’s dark. It’s damp. It’s cold. Get your flu shot.

You could make the argument that January is pretty awful. I wouldn’t argue. It is colder. But by the end of the month there is an end in sight. It’s not as dark. December is the beginning of misery, January is the middle, and February is the end. You can hope in February. There is no hope in December.