Many of us associate Christmas with cheer, family, friends. Others look at it as a time where many appointments have to be made to meet relatives who perhaps some don’t completely get along with, or get overwhelmed by the stress of it all.
But then there are others who do not fall into either category, people who suffer during Christmas more than others do. We are referring to those who do not have family members to meet with, who do not have those to share time with at Christmas, or even to complain about having to meet at this time of year. Christmas can be an extremely lonely period, watching others go shopping for their loved ones, watching people having a coffee with friends, seeing all the cheesy yet emotional Christmas films on TV. It can be overwhelming.
Over the years we have commercialised Christmas. We talk about sales numbers, about what toys or gifts to buy. But what Christmas actually is, is an opportunity to spend time with others.
As said, there are people who have nobody to spend time with. This, coupled with the pandemic, has made their lives that much harder. We should all do our bit to try and help make them feel more a part of the community. Caritas, pre-pandemic, used to host a Christmas Day lunch for such persons at the Curia. This is not possible due to Covid, and so it is now distributing the meals to people’s homes instead. But for those alone at Christmas, the sadness would still persist. It is still a great initiative by Caritas who are doing what they can, but in these trying times we also need to do our part.
If you know of a relative who perhaps does not have anyone willing to spend time with them, do something about it. Meet with them, or call them, send them a card with a thoughtful message. If there is an elderly neighbour who doesn’t have any close family, or whose family don’t talk to them, and there are many, call them. Go through with a small gesture which could brighten up their day- if its an elderly person living on their own, go to the supermarket and do their shopping. Such a gesture goes a long way. It takes just a little effort, a little time to make a change.
Living as someone on the outside looking in, feeling as though you don’t belong is not a nice feeling, is not something you would want to go through. The Maltese have always had kind hearts when it comes to making donations during the festive period. We should try and also give some time to making the period that much more enjoyable to those who need joy the most.