It once promised peace and happiness.

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Once again, a lot of happiness to everyone and, above all, good health.

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But then along come the holidays, imposing upon us once again a template for what happiness and interpersonal success is expected to look like.

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The hours of killing time before riding over to the hall, the putrid vending-machine meals on the run, the way-too-early-in-the-morning vans to the airport -- the dreary parts all become more than worth it when, for an hour or so, the singers can once again personally deliver a bit of happiness to the audiences who still adore their music.

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But once we acquire them, we quickly return to our previous level of happiness.

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"Knowing that I did pass our 10th wedding anniversary and Tom's birthday -- and feeling my way through the maze of grief that you go through during the first year -- I think that it will make those occasions next year a little more open to happiness and joy, knowing that we've experienced them at least once without Tom, " she said.

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Once they had such a wealth of story to work with, Coca-Cola and its partners built the Happiness Factory into a franchise that includes videogames, apps and social networking campaigns, as well as TV, radio, online, outdoor and mobile ads.

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So my sense of seasonal happiness on Christmas Eve intensifies as the King's College Choir and congregation reach the final verse of Once in Royal David's City.

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