Christmas
is a holy day for Christians, a day of commemoration, reflection and sharing in remembrance of the birth of Jesus Christ, the man who incarnated hope for mankind. Thousands nationwide, including the majority of Amerindians, will be celebrating by attending mass and church services, and gathering with family and friends to indulge in the season’s festivities.
As we go out of our way to make those dear to us happy, let us remember the children who were not so fortunate to wake up to presents this morning, the families who do not have the luxury of sumptuous meals or the company of close ones to look forward to. Let us spare a thought for those who are without families and those who have left us. Let us remember Indigenous peoples around the globe who figure among some of the most impoverished and neglected populations, deprived of decent health care, basic necessities and their human rights. Let us remember the populations trapped in the grips of war and conflict.
For if anything, Christmas is the celebration of a man who lived a life of poverty and for the poor.
The thriving business built on Christmas is far flung from the stable in which the Son of Man was born, surrounded by his humble parents, shepherds and animals. And so we often forget that the essence of giving which inhibits us this time of the year, is not only in honour of Christ as the three kings had honoured him, but also in acknowledgement of those in need.
The late Archbishop of San Salvador Óscar Arnulfo Romero y Galdámez on December 24, 1978 said: “No one can celebrate a genuine Christmas without being truly poor. The self-sufficient, the proud, those who, because they have everything,look down on others, (…) – for them there will be no Christmas. (…)”
His statement resonates with me in particular this Christmas, after a year of rampant crime and austere measures which plunged our nation into morosity. Social division between Guyanese is increasingly pronounced and the people challenged by poverty, unemployment and other forms of negligence, are often taken for granted by their fellow countrymen and women.
I hope that a spirit of solidarity and mutual respect ignites and cements us as a nation, replacing the scorn so often meted out to the small man and woman. It is to these lesser privileged sections of our society that I would like to extend my best wishes for peace and renewed strength to face the challenges ahead. May your Christmas by merry and joyful.
Season’s greetings to all.
