THERE is a tendency for people to spend lavishly at this festive time of the year, especially on consumer items and on food and beverages. This tendency to spend is fuelled largely by relentless media hype which helps to create the mood for generosity in spending to a point where some people, especially those on fixed incomes, exhaust their entire earnings on what is referred to as the “shopping craze.”Christmas, however, is more than just lighting up homes and engaging in conspicuous consumption. It is about lighting up lives; it is about reflecting on the core teachings of Christ which essentially is based on humility and love. Trying to, as it were, “keeping up with the Joneses” and seeking to outdo others is alien to the spirit of Christmas which regrettably has today become heavily commercialised.

We should all seek to guard against vanity and ostentatious lifestyles. There is, I wish to respectfully posit, no greater and nobler way of celebrating Christmas than that of reaching out to the poor and the needy and spreading joy to where it matters the most, that is, among the so-called “wretched of the earth.”
Let us as we celebrate this joyous time of the year spare some thought regarding the real reason for the season. Even as we celebrate, let us not lose sight of the fact that there are millions, nay hundreds of millions of men, women and children worldwide who are the victims of poverty and want caused by an unjust and inhumane world order, which places profits ahead of human survival and dignity.
A Merry Christmas to everyone!
HYDAR ALLY