_Christmas and Hanukkah are for the most people the most joyful holidays of the year. The holiday parties, the exchange of gifts, and the brilliant lights of the Christmas trees, not to mention a much needed break from school, make a guy glad to be alive.

Sometimes we forget that these holidays are really religious festivals. It's well to remember that the real holiday spirit is cast by the Star of Bethlehem and the Hanukkah candles, reminding us of those precious miracles in our faith traditions.

In the 12th point of the Scout Law we say that a Scout is reverent. The spirit of reverence is not always solemn, and not just for the sabbath. Remember why we celebrate these holidays and spread the joy with your daily good turn. You can wish others “Happy Hanukkah” or “Merry Christmas” without worrying too much about offending them.

Now remembering that a Scout is reverent, let's close with the Scout benediction.

Based on Scoutmaster Minute #8: Holiday Spirit, Transatlantic Council, http://www.tac-bsa.org.

In his contribution to The Scouting Way (Sandra and Jeff Schwartz, 2001) famous football coach Lou Holtz recommends imagining your mother on one side and God on the other to tell if your actions are right. He says it is hard to imagine those two steering you wrong.

Do a good turn daily.
We have the opportunity to demonstrate our character virtually every time we interact with our family, our teachers, our classmates or our fellow Scouts. 
A Scout is courteous.
Good manners are never out of fashion. 
A Scout is kind.
The very moment you feel least compassionate, may be the time your compassion  is most needed. 

The value of these ideals is as old as human relationships. A third-century religious leader named Basil wrote: “A tree is known by its fruit; a man by his deeds. A good deed is never lost; he who sows courtesy reaps friendship, and he who plants kindness gathers love.”

And that is still true 1700 years later.

The BSA has published a new Guide to Advancement this year that has answers to practically every question you could ask on the topic, and is well worth a look. 
In particular, section 7.0.3.2 on page 41 addresses "Group Instruction" and helps to explain why classroom style merit badge instruction "should be limited to those scenarios where the benefits are compelling." 

Does anyone know the significance of the phrase "the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month"? It's the time, day and month when in 1918 the peace treaty was signed bringing an end to the conflict we know today as World War I. People notice and remember unusual coincidences like this. 

In the years following 1918 many nations chose to honor those who fought and died in the war with special ceremonies held on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month. In England, an Unknown Soldier was buried in Westminster Abbey. In France an Unknown Soldier was buried in Paris beneath the Arch de Triumph. In the United States, on November 11, 1921, we created the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery. Our Congress made this day a national holiday, originally known as Armistice Day, to honor the end of the "war to end all wars". 

Unfortunately, there were other wars. Over time, other nameless heroes have been added to our Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Today, there is an unidentified soldier from WWI, WWII, The Korean War, and the Vietnam War. This sacred place has come to symbolize all those who have fought and died in the service of our country. Armistice Day has been renamed Veterans Day. Veterans Day should be a time when we remember, and honor, all that have served in this nations armed forces.
   
For a brief time (1971 - 1977) Veterans Day was moved from November 11th. Congress turned it into one of those Monday, three-day weekend holidays. But people felt strongly about the significance of the coincidental date, and Congress had to change it back.

Wherever you are this Friday, remember our veterans on the 11th hour hour of the 11th day of the 11th month. I hope many of you will join us at Memorial Park to personally thank some of the veterans of Warwick. 

With thanks to Rob Hathaway and ScoutoRama.com.

The rope ends and pieces I pulled out last night were all different, and the Scouts were able to identify a dozen or so specific ways those odds and ends varied from each other. Like us, those remnants are useful for some tasks by themselves, but gain additional value and usefulness when joined together.

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The virtuoso cannot play a great concerto without the orchestra. 

The star running back cannot score without ten other players. 

Scouting is also a team pursuit, like life. When we put on this uniform and showed up at AppleFest this weekend, we played the Boy Scout symphony for tens of thousands of people. When we turned out to build a footpath, or restore an historic site, one Scout might get the post-game interview, but we all got the win. 

So look around you. These guys are some of the most trustworthy, loyal and helpful people you will encounter in your life. If each one of you isn’t using these teammates to help you achieve your goals, and using your talents to help them achieve theirs, then even on top of all these awards, we can still do better! 

There is an old story of the missionary Sadhu Sundar Singh. He was traveling through the Himalayas with a Monk in the bitter cold. Night was coming and the Monk said, "If we don't reach the monastery by nightfall, we are in danger of freezing to death." Just as they reached a narrow path, they heard the cries of a man who had fallen over the edge. The Monk said, "Do not stop. God has brought him to his fate. He must work it out himself."

Sadhu replied, "God sent me here to help my brother. I cannot abandon him." The Monk went on and Sadhu climbed down a steep path. When he found the man, he saw that his leg was broken and he could not walk. Sadhu made a sling from his blanket and tied the man to his back. He then began a body torturing climb. He made his way through the deepening snow. It was dark>and it was all he could do to follow the path. He perserved, and faint with exhaustion, he finally saw the lights of the Monastery. As he moved toward the light, he stumbled for the first time and nearly fell. He did not stumble from exhaustion, but over an object. As he brushed the snow off the object, he looked down and saw that it was the body of the Monk.

Years later when a student asked him, "What is life's most difficult task?" he replied, "To have no burden to carry."

-- Thanks to Alan R. Houser, Scoutmaster, Berkeley Troop 24
(as published on MacScouter.org)

_Here is some great information for Scouts who are thinking about their Eagle Leadership Project: http://www.eaglescout.org/project/eagleprj.html