Merry Christmas

Dec 25, 2009 Editorial

It’s Christmas morning and for certain that there is no Guyanese fast asleep: the tingling anticipation of all that makes our Christmases so special has taken care of that. Never mind all the Christmas Eve parties and soirées that are now the rage.

The spread of Christianity from a tiny sliver of the Middle East to every country in the world has witnessed a remarkable phenomenon – the celebration of the birth of Christ, but in ways that are invariably redolent of the local customs. And so it has been in our dear old mudland.

There is, of course, the raison d’etre for the whole occasion – the incarnation of God in human form. The reason we are told, was because “God so loved the world”. This infinite love is a hallmark of Christmas and is expressed in so many ways at this time of the year.

In Guyana, our focus has always been on children, the poor and the infirm reflecting in myriad ways, the concern for those that might not be doing as well as us. Groups and individuals conspire to bring cheer to them through parties and sharing of gifts. Christmas is one time of the year that we all feel connected as a people.

Following on the custom bequeathed by the British, in many homes this morning, gifts from under the “Christmas Tree” will be opened to squeals of excitement – or perhaps groans of disappointment. In the days of yore, families would have found ingenious and novel ways of decorating their trees from locally sourced materials but nowadays, sadly, the store-bought and gaudily laden artificial ones are now ubiquitous.

There will be today, the visit to our churches in our very “Christmas best” to thank God for his beneficence. The story of the birth of Christ will be retold once again and its significance interpreted for our circumstance. Jesus Christ was not born in a big mansion. He was not born to very wealthy or learned parents. Jesus Christ was born in the humblest of places – the corner of a stable. He was born to humble and poor parents, who had nothing to boast about, except their own spotless character and holiness.

And of course, all of us will, with sincerity and seriousness, accept that the point of it all is that spiritual awakening that the advent of the Lord promised comes to the seeker, who is perfectly humble and “meek” and “poor in spirit.”

But being Guyanese we will just as certainly revert to our old fractious ways once the season of goodwill is over. So let us enjoy it while we can.

What we Guyanese enjoy most of all is our Guyanese Christmas meal that we will share with our friends and relatives. With our people drawn from so many different lands, it is not surprising that our fare is so varied – which other land can boast of pepper pot, which we received from our indigenous brothers and sisters?

But we do believe that it is our black cake and ginger beer that are the common thread that will run through every one of our Christmas tables today. Garlic pork, roast beef, curried chicken, duck, lamb, labba (take your pick – but never fish) fried rice, chow mein, other types of cakes, apples, grapes, nuts, chocolates (must be Cadbury) will make those tables groan.

There will be those that will complain that our tables of late are becoming too crowded with “foreign stuff”. But hasn’t it always been this way? Christmas itself, we should note is a “foreign import”.

What we should rather do is focus on the significance of this blessed occasion and work towards its integration of our year round lives. If God took human form, perchance we should accept that out of his infinite love, He was offering us a vision of how a human life ought to be lived.

Let us then examine the life of Jesus Christ and compare it to the one in which we are presently enmeshed. Are the values the same? Are they even similar? We may not be able to change the past but we can certainly change the future. Merry Christmas to all.