December is once again with us.

Another year is coming to an end and, as in previous years, the final days are a period of celebration, starting off with Christmas and ending on New Year’s Eve.

Many look forward to this time of the year, although others would rather do without it for several reasons, and we should all respect their views. Some may have lost a dear friend or a relative, and December brings back sad memories. It will certainly not be a time for celebration for them, although they should be encouraged that better things could be round the corner.

It is also the time that businessmen prefer, because from the commercial point of view it is one of the best periods for them, if not the best. With people buying loads of presents for their loved ones, and going out on social occasions more often, December is a healthy phase for the economy.

The decorated streets, shops full of wares and homes lit up with Christmas trees makes December different.

Luckily, over the past years, December is not dominated that much by politics, especially the debate on the budget, which in the past used to go on right until a few days before Christmas. Since the presentation of the government’s plans for the following year has been moved back to early November – and to October in the past two years – the parliamentary debate on the budget finishes much earlier than it used to.

This also gives time for people to make their own individual plans, and it is possibly for this reason too that the government has thought it fit to present the budget so early. For businessmen, it is certainly a blessing, simply because people tend to spend more money in December than they do during the rest of the year.

December is also a time when one starts thinking about resolutions for the new year, although it would perhaps be ideal for people to change – for the better – throughout the year, rather than make propositions that are supposed to come to be on 1 January and never do. Or do for a few days and then we’re back to square one.

The most obvious ones are to stop smoking, perhaps drinking too. But there are other resolutions that one could make, such as spending more time with the family, or being nicer to people at the workplace, or perhaps doing one’s job with more dedication.

It is also a time when one looks back at the past year, and sees what went right and what could have gone better and how things could be improved in the future. A year is a long time and experience changes people. What was important a year ago might carry little significance today, while other things that were seemingly innocuous last year have become a priority. What we should all understand is that we should all make a greater effort, wherever we are, to be better people.

For many, December is the month that virtually passes the quickest, probably because there are so many things to do and time seems to fly past. Not that it does not during the rest of the year – older generations say that the more time passes, the more quickly it seems to pass – but December goes by fast simply because it is a different month from the other 11.

All in all, December is that time of the year when many experience those bitter-sweet feelings of another year gone by. Those who had a bad year will be happy to start afresh. Others who had a good year will try to transpose all that has happened into a positive approach that will hopefully last beyond 2006.