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The Optimist from
"For the folks that celebrate Christmas, the central premise is that you're supposed to love your neighbor.”


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Stories that inspire


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They’ll be home for Christmas: Five homeless children get a holiday surprise <https://s.washingtonpost.com/20bf/585ff40f71885010a3d47652/cmhiQHJzcGRjLmNvbQ%3D%3D/7/64/422516d6533dd8dfd54eb38f2f8d39eb>

"For the folks that celebrate Christmas, the central premise is that you're supposed to love your neighbor.”

By Julie Zauzmer • Read more » <https://s.washingtonpost.com/20bf/585ff40f71885010a3d47652/cmhiQHJzcGRjLmNvbQ%3D%3D/8/64/422516d6533dd8dfd54eb38f2f8d39eb>

The story behind the beautiful way this mom told her sons the truth about Santa <https://s.washingtonpost.com/20c0/585ff40f71885010a3d47652/cmhiQHJzcGRjLmNvbQ%3D%3D/9/64/422516d6533dd8dfd54eb38f2f8d39eb>

Ten years ago, Leslie Rush shared her family's story online. This year, it went viral.

By Colby Itkowitz • Read more » <https://s.washingtonpost.com/20c0/585ff40f71885010a3d47652/cmhiQHJzcGRjLmNvbQ%3D%3D/10/64/422516d6533dd8dfd54eb38f2f8d39eb>
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Grace, unwrapped: Five short stories on the most meaningful gifts people have ever given <https://s.washingtonpost.com/20c1/585ff40f71885010a3d47652/cmhiQHJzcGRjLmNvbQ%3D%3D/12/64/422516d6533dd8dfd54eb38f2f8d39eb>

The very best gifts rarely wait for a holiday or come adorned with a bow.

By Jessica Contrera, Steve Hendrix, Colby Itkowitz, Amy B Wang and John Woodrow Cox • Read more » <https://s.washingtonpost.com/20c1/585ff40f71885010a3d47652/cmhiQHJzcGRjLmNvbQ%3D%3D/13/64/422516d6533dd8dfd54eb38f2f8d39eb>
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This video of a woman singing ‘O Holy Night’ in a Metro station is what we all need <https://s.washingtonpost.com/20c2/585ff40f71885010a3d47652/cmhiQHJzcGRjLmNvbQ%3D%3D/15/64/422516d6533dd8dfd54eb38f2f8d39eb>

Spoiler alert: It turns out that singer Tymara Walker is very, very good.

By Martine Powers • Read more » <https://s.washingtonpost.com/20c2/585ff40f71885010a3d47652/cmhiQHJzcGRjLmNvbQ%3D%3D/16/64/422516d6533dd8dfd54eb38f2f8d39eb>
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PHOTOS: 20 of the prettiest holiday light displays in the world <https://s.washingtonpost.com/20c3/585ff40f71885010a3d47652/cmhiQHJzcGRjLmNvbQ%3D%3D/18/64/422516d6533dd8dfd54eb38f2f8d39eb>

Photos of holiday decorations from Syria to South Korea

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A tiny church. A cold night. And the true meaning of Christmas at a live Nativity. <https://s.washingtonpost.com/20c4/585ff40f71885010a3d47652/cmhiQHJzcGRjLmNvbQ%3D%3D/21/64/422516d6533dd8dfd54eb38f2f8d39eb>

Almost no one came to watch as a Maryland congregation reenacted the birth of Jesus during a humble, profound and sometimes comic expression of faith.

By John Woodrow Cox • Read more » <https://s.washingtonpost.com/20c4/585ff40f71885010a3d47652/cmhiQHJzcGRjLmNvbQ%3D%3D/22/64/422516d6533dd8dfd54eb38f2f8d39eb>
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An interview with the AP photographer who took the iconic shot of Russian ambassador’s assassin <https://s.washingtonpost.com/20c5/585ff40f71885010a3d47652/cmhiQHJzcGRjLmNvbQ%3D%3D/24/64/422516d6533dd8dfd54eb38f2f8d39eb>

Burhan Ozbilici explains why and how he risked his life for a photo.

By Colby Itkowitz • Read more » <https://s.washingtonpost.com/20c5/585ff40f71885010a3d47652/cmhiQHJzcGRjLmNvbQ%3D%3D/25/64/422516d6533dd8dfd54eb38f2f8d39eb>
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My husband lost his job. His sister was murdered. Here’s what it did to my faith. <https://s.washingtonpost.com/20c6/585ff40f71885010a3d47652/cmhiQHJzcGRjLmNvbQ%3D%3D/27/64/422516d6533dd8dfd54eb38f2f8d39eb>

I had felt, maybe because of all my prayers, that things would soon look up. But that didn't happen.

By Elizabeth Bruenig • Read more » <https://s.washingtonpost.com/20c6/585ff40f71885010a3d47652/cmhiQHJzcGRjLmNvbQ%3D%3D/28/64/422516d6533dd8dfd54eb38f2f8d39eb>
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At 7, Bana al-Abed told the world about the siege of Aleppo on Twitter. Now, she is safe. <https://s.washingtonpost.com/20c7/585ff40f71885010a3d47652/cmhiQHJzcGRjLmNvbQ%3D%3D/33/64/422516d6533dd8dfd54eb38f2f8d39eb>

Several photos showed the 7-year old girl among a crowd of residents evacuated from Aleppo.

By Rick Noack • Read more » <https://s.washingtonpost.com/20c7/585ff40f71885010a3d47652/cmhiQHJzcGRjLmNvbQ%3D%3D/34/64/422516d6533dd8dfd54eb38f2f8d39eb>
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After a 73-year union, ailing couple finds two hospital beds pushed together offer the best comfort <https://s.washingtonpost.com/20c8/585ff40f71885010a3d47652/cmhiQHJzcGRjLmNvbQ%3D%3D/36/64/422516d6533dd8dfd54eb38f2f8d39eb>

For seven decades, the couple shared a bed. So now, as he lies in a hospital bed unable to say or do much, she lies beside him.

By Tara Bahrampour • Read more » <https://s.washingtonpost.com/20c8/585ff40f71885010a3d47652/cmhiQHJzcGRjLmNvbQ%3D%3D/37/64/422516d6533dd8dfd54eb38f2f8d39eb>
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'We’re cheering on Avery Jackson, a 9-year-old transgender girl' on the cover of National Geographic <https://s.washingtonpost.com/20c9/585ff40f71885010a3d47652/cmhiQHJzcGRjLmNvbQ%3D%3D/39/64/422516d6533dd8dfd54eb38f2f8d39eb>

Avery is the latest transgender woman — though among the very youngest — to be featured on a magazine cover in recent years.

By Ben Guarino • Read more » <https://s.washingtonpost.com/20c9/585ff40f71885010a3d47652/cmhiQHJzcGRjLmNvbQ%3D%3D/40/64/422516d6533dd8dfd54eb38f2f8d39eb>
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The life of Marion Pritchard, Dutch rescuer of Jewish children during the Holocaust, who died this month <https://s.washingtonpost.com/20ca/585ff40f71885010a3d47652/cmhiQHJzcGRjLmNvbQ%3D%3D/45/64/422516d6533dd8dfd54eb38f2f8d39eb>

Honored as “righteous among the nations,” she executed a Nazi before he could arrest a family of four.

By Emily Langer • Read more » <https://s.washingtonpost.com/20ca/585ff40f71885010a3d47652/cmhiQHJzcGRjLmNvbQ%3D%3D/46/64/422516d6533dd8dfd54eb38f2f8d39eb>
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The Hanukkah-Christmas convergence couldn’t be more symbolic of the light we must embrace <https://s.washingtonpost.com/20cb/585ff40f71885010a3d47652/cmhiQHJzcGRjLmNvbQ%3D%3D/48/64/422516d6533dd8dfd54eb38f2f8d39eb>

Millions of Jews and Christians will light candles on Dec. 24 to celebrate holidays of hope and joy at a time of ugliness and intolerance

By Petula Dvorak | Columnist • Read more » <https://s.washingtonpost.com/20cb/585ff40f71885010a3d47652/cmhiQHJzcGRjLmNvbQ%3D%3D/49/64/422516d6533dd8dfd54eb38f2f8d39eb>
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An overpriced doll and a saucy social network combined to create a Christmas miracle <https://s.washingtonpost.com/20cc/585ff40f71885010a3d47652/cmhiQHJzcGRjLmNvbQ%3D%3D/51/64/422516d6533dd8dfd54eb38f2f8d39eb>

What mother wouldn’t spend more than she has allotted to her own wardrobe all year to get a doll with “a bright, multicolored dress, featuring an attached braided belt and braided trim on the straps”?

By Gail Cornwall • Read more » <https://s.washingtonpost.com/20cc/585ff40f71885010a3d47652/cmhiQHJzcGRjLmNvbQ%3D%3D/52/64/422516d6533dd8dfd54eb38f2f8d39eb>
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