Okay, it's nearly Christmas and that means a ho ho ho and a merry old time. Well that's what the television and advertisers would have us believe, isn't it? Unfortunately, the older I get the less this rings true for me.
I support the
Barnardos charity and every year at Christmas and throughout the year I get news of where my donations go. It's at these times when people go crazy spending money wildly and frivolously that I realise not just how lucky I am but how unfair a place the world is. Near or far, there are hundreds in need. You just have to walk down a street in London to see a homeless person and with the cost of living as it is in the UK I'm sure there are many people struggling to make ends meet who are unable to buy Christmas presents. Then there are the wars and economic inequalities in the world, the diseases and deaths. All this Christmas cheer just isn't for me. Perhaps if I had children I'd feel differently.
In any case, here's my take on Christmas. Sorry if it doesn't sit well with yours:
Christmas Cheer
It’s Christmas time, that time again
Mulled wine, mince pies and bearded men
Christmas lights that sparkle and glow
Cold dark mornings threatening snow
Long bank statements gleaming red
Consumerist fat cats being fed
Christmas bunting and baubled trees
Children’s lips uttering please
When in a distant land there lies
A child who for his mother cries
And for his father and his home
Who finds himself now all alone
A cynic’s view of Christmas time
Knows that there is no reason or rhyme
To where and how and why we’re here
Or for what we raise a Christmas cheer
For all the people far and near
Perhaps it’s hope that makes us cheer
Or is it selfishness alone
That makes us snuggle up at home?
Copyright 2006 N. EnsaffI hope you all have a restful Christmas. See you in the new year, if not before!
