Christmas in the city is crazy. Period. It’s that time of year when tourists flood into Soho, Times Square and every other inch of the city for holiday shopping, Christmas tree viewing and other festivities. Though it makes navigating your way through the streets tricky and wait times at restaurants grow infinitely longer, there’s an undeniable beauty to this time of year. Maybe it’s cheer in the air joining the regular city smells and sounds, or maybe it’s the presence of menorahs and Christmas trees in almost every home and store but for those of us that are suckers for the holidays it’s hard not to smile or at least spend a little more time glancing into colorfully decorated windows.

True, it is a season of excessive consumerism but underneath that it is a time of authentic celebrating. Whether you participate in Hanukkah, Christmas or Diwali, the months of November and December are a time of being grateful for the light that breaks through dark winter nights that are upon us by 5:00 p.m. With so many hours of dark each day, the city illuminates itself with trees and glowing windows that are bright enough to make you (almost) forget that these dark winter months will last a little too long.

Yes, these lights consume copious amounts of energy and create light pollution, but despite that there is something astounding about walking through a New York City lit up from downtown to the Upper West Side with strands and strands of twinkling lights. So, even if the packed streets and flocks of tourists have you feeling like the Grinch, at least be grateful that New York in December is a city of light, a city where even the grumpiest person can find some beauty and joy or at least enough light to temporarily pull you out of your winter depression.