The Christmas Season is always a most welcome period in the Christian calendar, notwithstanding the tendency nowadays to refer to it as just a time of “happy holidays”. The message it bears exceeds by far the common glitter of lights, feasting, excessive drinking and rampant commercialism manifested today. Our small Christian society, like many other societies, far and near, has found much comfort in the traditional characterisation of Christmas as a time for sharing, peace, love, family togetherness and spiritual hope and fulfilment.
One finds that even in war-torn and unchristian areas of the world there are times when a Christmas truce is declared, providing a welcome, though uneasy, break from hostilities. While this may be seriously lacking in substance, it reflects some recognition by warring parties of the message of peace and goodwill proclaimed by the season.
But times are quickly changing everywhere and the Christmas spirit appears to be waning and needing a revival. It is not just in terms of religious and spiritual fervour, but also how some people relate to each other around this time of the year, some allowing greed – and to an extent plunder – to take control of them.
Why, for example, should there be a noticeable increase in burglaries, robberies and thefts around this time of the year, sometimes witha growing degree of violence? These are matters which all persons in Anguilla have to deal with in cooperation with our law-enforcement officers, in terms of reporting, controlling or, at best, stamping out. The sooner we can succeed, the better it will be so that the tide of this scourge does not overwhelm us.
Most of the details surrounding this week’s deadly shooting incident are not yet known, but whatever was the motive of the perpetrators, it is a tragedy that has shaken everyone in Anguilla and exposed the island to a whole lot of negative publicity. Add this to the other violent incidents, including gang violence during the year, it is really a most unfortunate situation for a tourist destination – for an island feverishly seeking foreign investment to boost its fragile economy. All of those incidents are now coming back to haunt us along with this recent one in the run-up to Christmas – a time when we should be celebrating with love, caring and respect for the sanctity of human life.
To sum up Christmas, it is all about loving, giving and living: the bedrock of the Christ Child coming into the world to save mankind – as the carol puts it: “That man will live forevermore because of Christmas”.
And so, whatever we may think about Christmas, its true meaning, religious and Christian traditions, can be lasting spiritual treasures for all of us. It is a time that heralds peace, love and hopeand we, in Anguilla, now in the midst of trouble, andin variousother depressing circumstances, need all the good and cheer the season offers.
We wish all our readers at home and abroad a peaceful and spirit-filled Christmas.
