That time of year

All the hoo-hah about what constitutes an appropriate display of the season wears me out. I was brought up to respect the customs of others and there's no time like the present to put that teaching into action. I found an article recently by Bruce Weinstein, author of Life Principles: Feeling Good by Doing Good. He reiterates his five life principles in the article:
1. Do no harm.
2. Make things better.
3. Respect others.
4. Be fair.
5. Be loving.
Now those are words to live by, especially when our minds are on giving and making resolutions for a New Year. However, they can all be rolled up into one saying that has been around for millenia: the Golden Rule. Here's a web site that lists sayings from different religions around the world expressing the principle of treating others as you wish to be treated. The version I learned is "Do unto others as you would have others do unto you."