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Nationally, this has been one of the most contentious holiday seasons in recent memory. The friction comes, in part, from a backlash among Christian faithful who complain the season's meaning is being lost in a tightly woven, politically correct language filter. They take exception to others, primarily businesses, the media and the government, avoiding specific references to Christmas and opting for such generic phrases as "happy holidays" and "season's greetings." Even President Bush was admonished for saying "happy holidays" in a speech, and because White House Christmas cards didn't mention Christmas. As a society, some religious people warn, we have taken Christ out of Christmas, and they want him put back.

Others have complained for years that the meaning of Christmas has been obscured by the din and glitter of consumerism. Christ got booted from Christmas years ago, they argue, and capitalism delivered the kick.

The great divides in this country -- among theologies, between the sectarian and the secular, in politics and along personal philosophical lines -- probably will never be completely bridged, and that's probably just fine; noisy debate is a sign of healthy democracy.

The truth is, when you get past the zone where people live their political lives, to the spot where even the most ardent debaters on all sides live their actual lives, you often find a spirit worth mention. Call it what you like -- the Christian spirit, the Christmas spirit, the human spirit -- it's there.

Consider, for example, Malcolm Pitzer-Ritter, a fifth-grader you can read more about later this week. Malcolm helps his classmate, Ellie Zwak, who uses a wheelchair, on and off the school bus. And, as you can read on the front page of today's paper, Ellie herself is a towering example of spirit.

You can find important examples of spirit in things as prosaic as the Board of Realtors annual holiday dinner, where today as many as 400 people will get a free meal. Some of them will be too poor to afford it otherwise, but one of the great things about the event is that it attracts all sorts of people of different classes and circumstances.

The spirit manifests itself in thousands of private ways, too. When people check the little box on their power bills, agreeing to pay a little more to help people who have less and when people drop checks in church collection plates. The spirit lives among people who quietly support charities such as the United Way, which is very near reaching its annual goal of $500,000. That's thanks to the many people who gave and to the many who worked hard on the campaign.

It's among all the people who work year after year trying to reduce the number and ease the suffering of stray animals.

Examples of the darker side of life on earth are everywhere, too, of course. But those take the forefront most days. Today -- call it what you like -- is a good day to ponder and celebrate what's good in people, communities, countries and beyond.

In that spirit, Merry Christmas, happy holidays, best wishes and thanks for reading the paper.