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CHRISTMAS GREETINGS

Dec 25, 2016 Editorial, Features / Columnists

Today, Guyanese from all walks of life are celebrating Christmas at home and in the diaspora. Christmas is a time of joy, peace and goodwill towards all mankind, and to strengthen bonds with loved ones and within communities. In the Guyanese tradition, Christmas is a time to spread happiness with family and friends, enjoy the festivities, attend parties and partake in some of the finest Christmas dishes—ginger beer, black cake, rum, ham, pork, cook-up etc.
This Yuletide season should serve as a period of reflection on our lives and how we must redouble our efforts in the New Year and beyond to live in peace and harmony, and to build a better and prosperous Guyana. It is a time when Christians come together to sing carols in their places of worship and joyously celebrate the birth of the “Babe of Bethlehem,” Jesus Christ.
Christmas 2016 will greet some of us feeling on top of the world, happy to be alive, despite the various challenges facing the country. But it will find many others feeling down, some through faults of their own, while others are victims of circumstance––joblessness, poverty or personal illness.
We hope that the less fortunate will get the opportunity to experience the joy of Christmas through the generous acts of kindness from those who are better off and are conscious of their obligation to their fellowman. On this festive occasion, all must pray for those who are bed-ridden in hospitals, the less fortunate, and those who have lost loved ones during the year.
We must also pray for those battling depression and alcohol and substance abuse, and hope that their spirits will be lifted and that they will seek help and refrain from their bad habits.
It is that time of the year when the poor feel, most acutely, the deep distress of not being able to provide for their families as they would like, particularly their children who are too young to even understand the meaning of poverty. We should show compassion to them as Jesus Christ did in an earlier time period. The nativity scene of Jesus’s birth essentially depicts the poor human conditions in Guyana, where those deserving of help are the elderly, the homeless and the
single mothers.
Christmas is also a time for healing and to forget the hurt, animosity, persecution and bitterness, and to renew our love for one another; hold out a hand of friendship to neighbours and friends; to those from whom we have been estranged and have done us wrong. We must recapture the spirit of the message that brought joy to the world 2000 years ago by the Babe of Bethlehem. However, the spirit of giving has not been made easy for many who wanted to give but are not in a position to do so. Needless to say, the true meaning of Christmas continues to elude the poor and the downtrodden in Guyana. Too often, it is the greedy, not the needy; the rich and not the poor who enjoy Christmas.
We must not forget the tragedies the country has experienced, the goodness and kindness shown to us by others, and be thankful for the peace that surrounded our nation during difficult times when most are trying to better their lives.
Perhaps the holidays will give the political directorate, but more so the opposition, a chance to reflect on themselves and the importance of inclusiveness of all in society, so that they can make better decisions in the interest of the people. As a nation, we are hoping that 2017 will be a year of healing, atonement, cooperation, and genuine and competent leadership.
Best wishes for a happy, enjoyable, peaceful and safe Christmas to everyone.
Merry Christmas to all!

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