It’s so easy to forget what the holidays are about.
There’s so much focus on the spectacle of Christmas. There’s the pressure to buy, buy, buy all of these material items. There’s the pressure to cook the perfect meal and be the perfect host. There’s the pressure to put of lights and these elaborate displays. I could go on and on.
There’s a lot of lip service that goes into Christmas, that it’s about love, getting together with your family and friends, peace and helping others.
Here’s the thing: if we truly believe in those things, we can’t be passive about it. We can’t just do for three or four weeks of the years and then return to the grind as if nothing’s happened.
For example, food bank donations shoot up during the last couple of months of the year, yet the sad reality is there’s still people that need help to get a meal in the summer months, when donations only come in at a trickle.
Want to get together with family and friends? They aren’t just available at Christmas. They’re around all year.
Instead of succumbing to fear of threats to our way of life like creeping authoritarianism and climate change, it’s time to tap into the Christmas spirit all year and take action to counter them.
In short, if we believe in what we’ve been told is important about Christmas, it’s time to take a few more cues from the man the holiday’s named after.
Seasons greetings
This is the last paper of 2018. Like the rest of society, we’ll be celebrating the holidays and the coming of the New Year.
I think that 2018 is going to be remember as a tough year for us in this part of the world, which is why I’m hopeful that 2019 will be an excellent year that sees us move forward, not back.
In the meantime, have a Merry Christmas, happy holidays and a happy New Year.
