THE Christmas holiday is, undoubtedly, the most expansive gift-giving time of the year. In addition to relatives and friends, many of us also receive gifts and gift cards from various companies and government ministries and agencies; this year is no different, except that the cards and gifts we got from government entities this season were all locally made.

You see, just as we were heading into the holidays, President Dr. Irfaan Ali took a decision to distribute gifts that are value-added along with hand-made cards that ooze patriotism. “For Christmas, I said to Cabinet, the official gifts of the government will be cassareep, honey, crab oil [etcetera],” Dr. Ali told those attending a Christmas dinner and awards ceremony hosted by the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association Limited (GMSA) earlier in December.

The President said that the move is intended to not only promote “all things Guyana” to its local, regional and international partners, but also boost morale and financial independence within certain key communities. “Our Christmas cards will be made locally by single mothers, people with disability and [persons from] the Amerindian communities,” President Ali noted.

Even more impressive is the fact that the cards were projected to contain little intriguing pieces of information such as where they were produced, and a brief history of the person or persons who produced them. President Ali is confident that such cards will contribute to more social wins, and I could not agree more.

If you know me, personally, then you’d know that I am a nostalgic hoarder; I have a tough time letting go of things that once brought me joy, especially people and Christmas cards.

Let me explain: When I was growing up in Novar, Mahaicony, my grandmother, Zabeda, and my late ‘Aunty Doll’ always maintained a beautiful showcase corner for the many Christmas cards they would receive, year after year, after year. Come to think of it, it was almost an untold and unexplained law to not discard any of those cards;they were treasures, it seemed.

‘Twine lines’ would be strung on nails, and the lovely Christmas cards, much like laundry, would be hung in a little nook for all to see. At one point, I remember the twine breaking under pressure, and in an instant, cards were scattered on the living room floor. I was probably about eight at the time, and I loved to read. I would read everything that crossed my path; I still do this, mind you.

Nonetheless, that day, I sat on the floor and read in excess of 45 cards, mostly Christmas cards, one by one. They were all from relatives overseas; aunts and uncles that I had only heard stories about, but had never seen. I recall some of the cards being even older than me at the time; the designs were captivating, and the words melted my young heart.

I understood, in that moment, why my aunt and grandmother held on to those things; they really were treasures. Unfortunately, the tradition of those treasures seemed to have been lost with the passage of time.

OVERLY NOSTALGIC
As I sit here at my desk at midnight, typing this article, I am becoming overly nostalgic. I wish I at least had photographs of those cards to see for myself, and share with you our readers. I wish I was able to get actual glimpses of what those cards looked like. I wish I was able to hold them, smell them, and read the heartening little messages they contained.

In the 27 years that I have been on this planet, I had only ever received one Christmas card; one! It was from my Aunt Renu in Canada. Unfortunately, my mild hoarder personality clashes with my mother’s need to discard of old things. I still remember how much I cried the day she burned my typewriter. I might even still have some residual PTSD from that incident; it wasn’t easy to stand there and watch as that piece of history turned to ashes. Well, if I’m to be honest, it took several days to completely burn, but still, it was tragic.

For as long as I can remember, I have desperately tried to hold on to things that face threats of extinction. I have such a nostalgic personality that I keep old perfume bottles; don’t judge me. Here’s the thing: I never use the same fragrance more than once, so every scent is like a time machine; it sends me back to the period of my life where I flaunted a particular fragrance.

For instance, a whiff of those AVON cucumber-scented body mists transports me back to my days of attending Covent Garden Secondary School; a back-bencher, surrounded by my dearest friends, laughing non-stop during our lunch breaks. Unfortunately, the wonderful scent that is Gucci Bloom has been tainted by this Jumanji-like year of 2020. If I were to decide to procreate, smelling that Gucci perfume will be a poignant reminder of stories to tell my grandkids; the horrors of forgetting to wear my mask, or wash my hands every few seconds.

Truth be told, I don’t fear change; I fear things being lost:Traditions, memories, photographs, etc. There are so many things that I don’t wish to see fade with time; one such thing is the tradition of sending hardcopy cards, especially at Christmas.

The question of whether Christmas cards are becoming obsolete has been bothering me for the past few years, but I am now a tad bit relieved, having received a single card, which will now go towards restarting my collection. And, you should know that I no longer live with my mother, so, my fear of her disposing of my cards are not as strong, especially since she lives at least five hours away.

This year, my Christmas card collection was restarted with a card I received from Agriculture Minister, Zulfikar Mustapha and his team. As promised by President Ali, the cards were customised, and the appreciation basket contained authentic cassareep and other locally-manufactured products such as achar and plantain porridge, etcetera.

In the meantime, I can’t wait to receive more Christmas cards, so that I, too, can have a nicely decorated and immensely intriguing card section set up at my home. Admittedly, **the corner that once adorned my grandmother’s house is no longer there, and even though I am constantly reminded of the fact that hardcopy Christmas cards are becoming obsolete, I am determined to keep the tradition alive, at least within my family circle, for now.

Nonetheless, as we brave another Christmas amid a pandemic, I hope that you have a merry time, even those of you who’ve replaced your hardcopy Christmas cards with the electronic ones.