Entering the holiday season (which we Americans kicked off on November 22 with our Thanksgiving), perhaps you’re looking forward to some time with family and friends, some good food, and maybe even a long-awaited vacation. 

For many of my fellow citizens, this vacation will be a once-in-a-lifetime holiday to Florence or Tuscany. It’s also a time to give, and hopefully receive, and think about those who are less fortunate and about those who have made sacrifices to allow us to celebrate as we do today. Next year we will commemorate the bicentennial of our diplomatic presence in Florence. With that in mind, there are two chapters in particular from our shared history that illustrate how we’ve come together during holiday times past.