Our Christmas week began with quite a sobering warning, as Homeland Security chief Tom Ridge announced his department is raising the nation’s terror alert to orange, high.

The change in our color-coded lifestyle follows increased &uot;chatter&uot; about possible terrorist attacks over the holidays.

But a funny thing has happened. The first heightened alert in six months seems to have done little to affect the nation’s psyche. Folks are still traveling, albeit with a bit more anxiety and a lot longer lines for security.

We’re still preparing for Christmas and shopping up until the last minute.

We can walk a fine line between accepting that such terrorism warnings are the new normal and becoming once again complacent about our security. The &uot;it-can’t-happen-here&uot; attitude was certainly proved wrong on Sept. 11, but it’s easy to slip back into old habits, especially when warning after warning produces few new fears.

We cannot become complacent; we should, as Adams County Civil Defense Director George Souderes said, keep our eyes open wider in the coming days.

But we can’t let such terrorist warnings interrupt our lives, either. We are preparing to celebrate one of the most joyous holidays, and one of the holiest days in the Christian faith.

So we will keep our eyes open this Christmas &045; but we will also keep our hearts open to the joy of the season.