Now that Deepavali passed by, the next big festival Christmas leaves us with all possibilities of festivities. Though I confess to a love for Christmas, I find myself being part of any festival that’s soothing, calming and reassuring minus the loud bursting and burning of crackers. It’s about places that look like fairyland, Christmas trees, cakes, clothes, presents, carolling, socializing and lot more. Or it could be giving, sharing, reaching out and loving in a complete, delightful manner. We all understand from scriptures that Christmas is about greatness embracing humility for love sake.
All religious doctrines are challenged with the task of overcoming the threshold of difficulty and temptation that won’t turn off the fragile and yet keep the hardcore good Samaritans invested. Not just on special days but all days. For years, what good has festivals done to alleviate the sufferings of a less fortunate person we know, we come across on a daily basis. One powerful human expression can instil faith and its love. And if it’s Christmas, let Christmas jingles sing to souls.
Just walk up to any rich kid, casually bring up the subject of a festival and at least a few of us will realize that we are dorky enough to broach an obscure topic with a totally pampered X-gen kid. All of us believe the rich have a thing going for them- Christmas or not.Children are the beneficiaries of extravagance on all days, not to mention special days. It’s not only St. Nicholas who brings the presents these days. Nobody seems to be waiting for this heavily bearded guy in robes with a red cape. Is there any child who cares to be good throughout the year or is anxious about being rescued by him from Spain! It seems like ZwartePieten has taken a retirement. It is indeed too much to expect that modesty find resonance with children and youth. But it’s the responsibility of adults to show the way. In the process of pampering and being pampered, all of us tend to lose track of the real purpose behind a festival. We are fast becoming a society defined by individual wants and desires.
In addition to success, riches, fame and beauty, even virtues are measured with different yardsticks at different points of time. Still, in all situations and circumstances it’s certainly more convenient to be loving and humble rather than flaunt riches and titles. This is the crux of any Christmas message.
I don’t mean to say we spin a complex web of deep emotions to carry across our message of love. Let an elegant simple gesture set you and me apart and an example too because many others express themselves based on things they see. Of course there are many stories of excitement and happiness during all festivals. Let ours be one of empathy and compassion.
Before the rich and the fortunate decide to fill up happening places all decked up in glitter and glory, they can take a moment to spare and share a bit of their happiness with their regular grocer, fruit vendor, a flower seller at the street corner or some nobody in need. As we drive in our swanky cars in our best Christmas outfit to fellowship in a church, why do we feign blindness to the homeless, naked and hungry! The moment we garner the courage to pull over, reach out in the simplest way possible, we are actually teaching our children the essence of salvation; humility, love and sacrifice.
I’m ever grateful to my mother who taught me Christy Lane’s ‘Shake me I rattle, squeeze me I cry” at a very early age that the lyrics seeped into my soul. Today as a parent I don’t deny my little girls of anything that’s Christmas. From enjoying bizarre decorations to pampering their friends, I’m part of all the fun. But I’ve made sure they know to find God, not only on a Christmas day in a manger. They see God almost every day as they attempt in their small ways by sharing the goodness of life.
Hopefully, writing my thoughts will challenge existing notions of festivities in societies and make a case for all those who live lives without hope and for all others who hope to create a society where stereotyped notions of self pampering is broken down.
This Christmas, may we remember there are millions of other humans who are not even within our world view. We don’t care to gather details about these people whosoever. Any festivity must incorporate within it, at least a small part of the lives of less fortunate beings.
More important, we need to acknowledge fully the absurdity of the attempt to simplify the unwarranted extravaganza under the pretext of celebrations. It’s about time we also acknowledge the mess we make and stand up for clean celebrations.
Every year, even before the advent begins, my Christmas presents wrapped up by Sheridon with all the love in this world reminds me it’s time to ‘Pay it forward’. Bigger and better.
