At this time of year, both Christians and Jews celebrate the triumph of light over darkness. This year, Christmas and Hanukkah overlap. We celebrate the light, count our blessings, and wish each other a happy new year.

This time of year also features commitment and resolution. In Hebrew, the word hanukkah means dedication or rededication.

At the end of this difficult year, fraught with brutality and bluster and malice, we have an opportunity to focus both on celebration and on action and commitment to what we hold dear, on our values and goals.

On a wall at APN’s Washington office, we have a poster that we produced years ago, which says, “It’s not about the oil, it’s about the light.” The idea was that the true miracle of Hanukkah was not the Maccabees finding an extra pint of oil, but their using it to generate the light needed at a time of severe adversity.

Today, still, it's all about the light.

This Christmas and Hanukkah, let’s rededicate ourselves to generating more light in 2017.

Happy holidays. We wish you light!