The time is here. Holiday lights already flicker; candy canes line market shelves; trees soon will rise. The “12 days” seemingly will stretch into eternity, although we have yet to tire of this year’s renditions of the tune. Please do not ask us about drummer boys. We are content to leave the humbug to Scrooge. Greetings rate as fighting words. A fear of offending (or a desire not to offend) gives offense. The season cannot be considered official until the first outraged report of a company advising its employees against wishing customers a “Merry Christmas.“ Lawsuits will be filed against religious displays on public property, too. Someone will vandalize a menorah or a star and claim not to know what the symbol signifies. Defenders of nativity scenes on courthouse squares will argue that the presence of reindeer adjacent to humble mangers allows the displays to pass the establishment clause. Overt celebrations of Christmas, let us remember, aroused the Pilgrims, who seem either cranky or wise.

For some people, the whole point of Thanksgiving dinner is to have leftovers. These are the people who intentionally buy a monster-size bird, mash way too many potatoes and pop an extra pie in the oven. “In our house, the leftovers are the most exciting part of Thanksgiving. It’s such a great opportunity to use your creative juices to come up with new ways to use them up,“ says Allie Lewis Clapp, food director at Real Simple magazine.

CATHY McCARTHY Metro Business asked Cathy McCarthy, a senior vice president at Henrico County-based SnagAJob.com, an hourly and part-time job-listing Web site, about the holiday hiring season: “We are right in the heart of the holiday hiring season, and now is a good time to look for part-time supplemental work. “SnagAJob.com recently completed a survey of hourly hiring managers, and what they told us was that it is going to be a tough year for holiday hiring. They are looking to hire about 16 percent fewer workers than they did last year.

Alice Goodwin has been instrumental in donating millions to help others during the four-plus decades she has lived in Richmond. Now that she has been named the 2009 Richmond Christmas Mother, she’s encouraging others to look for their own generous instincts to help families in need this holiday season. The gift doesn’t need to have lots of zeros at the end to be important, she said.

The year 5770 was celebrated last night as thousands of Jews across the Richmond region gathered for Rosh Hashana, the Jewish new year, which began at sundown. Rosh Hashana falls on the first day of the Jewish month Tishri. It begins a period of introspection and making amends in advance of Yom Kippur, a day of atonement that begins at sundown 10 days later on Sept. 27.

Sally Newton offered a family favorite for a request from reader Rebecca McGeorge for raisin cookies with a biscuitlike dough. The recipe came from Newton’s mother-in-law, Violet Newton, who lived in New Hampshire and always kept homemade cookies on hand, which, Sally Newton said, “probably accounts for her four children and three grandchildren being ‘cookie monsters’ today.“

After Christmas, most folks don’t have much use for the fresh-cut evergreen fading fast in their living rooms. And if a new flat-screen HDTV arrived under that same tree, the old television with a fuzzy picture may have to go as well. To provide an environmentally friendly alternative to tossing post-holiday castoffs in a landfill, many local governments are offering Christmas tree and electronics recycling.

Watch video of Kwanzaa-related events by the Richmond Kwanzaa Kollectitve.

For all of its conspicuous consumption, America has a firm foundation in generosity, especially during the holiday season. At a relatively early age, we recognize that it’s better to give than to receive.

Christmas means eggnog. OK, well, maybe that’s something of an overstatement. Regardless, eggnog is a tradition in many households. The allure for some is the frothy combination of milk, eggs and sugar. For others, it’s the bourbon, rum or some other alcoholic additive used to spice the beverage. Reader Judy Richwine of Urbanna wrote in seeking a recipe for a version of eggnog made with ice cream.

Here’s the holiday spirit come to life: Java Berrow walking up to a home with someone’s dinner, knocking on the door and cheerfully announcing, “Meals on Wheels!“ “I like helping people who don’t get out to get their food,“ Berrow said. Here’s another thing: Berrow’s good work is not limited to the holidays. SLIDESHOW: Meals on Wheels

Reader Luci York wrote in seeking a recipe for fruitcake she and her brothers remember their mother making almost 50 years ago. What set this apart from other fruitcake recipes was that it was made with a spice-cake mix. We received several recipes for fruitcake from other readers. Cathy Day of Chesterfield County responded with a recipe handed down from her mother, who called it “The Only Fruitcake Dad Likes.“

Shoppers perusing the stores in some of Hanover County’s busiest retail centers can rest a little easier this holiday season. More than 30 county residents are walking the sidewalks at four shopping areas as part of the county’s Courtesy Patrol.

“It’s a festival of hope.“ Sam Shaw and his wife, Rita, came with friends to watch Richmond’s 24th Annual Grand Illumination at the James Center, and he wasn’t disappointed.