The Philadelphia Gay News staff shares their holiday wishes, ranging from peace and safety to personal gratitude and hope for the future. Whether calling for unity, celebrating family, or reflecting on challenges, our messages center on love, resilience and joy this season.
Martin Alfaro: This might sound a bit deep, but it’s truly what I feel in this moment. I have several wishes, both personally and professionally, but for this purpose, my wish is for people to live by the golden rule: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Let’s strive to be good neighbors and remember that, at the end of the day, we all want the same things — to live our lives, find happiness, and enjoy the fundamental rights we all deserve.
On a personal note, just before Thanksgiving, my family faced a health scare with my father. I would be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge that this is top of mind for me right now. We’re deeply grateful that he’s recovering, but the experience gave my family and me countless reasons to feel thankful. It reminded us of the importance of coming together and appreciating one another.
Check in on your loved ones often — life is too short to take them for granted.
Victoria A. Brownworth: My holiday wish is safety for vulnerable Americans under threat from the incoming Trump-Vance-Musk administration. Everything I have reported for PGN and the mainstream press over the past few months has highlighted how LGBTQ people, women, immigrants and elderly and disabled people are at tremendous risk from Trump’s proposed policies, like Project 2025. His Cabinet choices have underscored this. My wish is that we resist where we can and draw on our activist history and roots to protect our LGBTQ family and others at risk.
Kelly Burkhardt: The ending of war in Gaza and Ukraine.
Tim Cwiek: My holiday wish is for people to feel better about the trans community, which has been under unprecedented attack. As Madame Curie said, “Nothing in life is to be feared. It’s only to be understood.”
Sean Dorn: I wish that everyone I know is safe from petty political stunts and harassment, especially under the new Trump administration. I hope for peace and tranquility in my life and the lives of the people around me. If things run off the rails, I hope the error is always on the side of preserving people’s dignity and autonomy. If all of that happens, I feel like we collectively are doing pretty well.
Sonia Leounes: My holiday wish is for everyone to have what they need and be surrounded by people who love them. My personal wish is to have a festive and peaceful holiday by doing things I enjoy, like giving unique gifts, listening to Christmas music and being with friends. I also wish for the Eagles to win the Super Bowl!
Don Pignolet: Peace and Happiness to all for the holiday season. We all need a lot of it after this past year.
Jeremy Rodriguez: I want the people I love the most to be happy and healthy. With the incoming administration, there will be a lot of hard days and all I want is for everyone to find a little ounce of joy whenever they can. It’s the most radical thing we can do right now.
Lauren Rowello: This time of year can be complicated and emotional. My wish is that everyone — especially the most vulnerable and marginalized among us — finds and follows the paths they need to have a safe, healthy, and fulfilling holiday.
Prab Sandhu: Love, joy and continued success for both my PGN family and my biological one.
Mark Segal: The old adage — good cheer for all.