It's Christmas time. Most of us should be already on holiday; the mad rush to buy presents for loved ones and food for Christmas Day about to reach fever pitch.
Even for those who are at work, with the exception of shop assistants, life starts slowing down.
It’s a time to reflect on a year that’s almost over, a time to reconnect with loved ones.
For those who observe the Christian faith, it’s a time to remember the birth of Jesus Christ, the man born of a virgin mother, the son of God come to bring peace on earth.
Christmas is a time of fellowship of brotherly love, of caring for one another.
It’s something we would do well to remember, in fact it’s something we should practise every day. Not everyone will be able to afford to celebrate Christmas, even a cooked meal on Tuesday.
For some people, the much-storied manger of the Messiah’s birth is their lived reality such is the poverty and inequality that continues to exist in this
country.
Resolving that is beyond the remit of most of us as individuals, but there is much that we can do. We can donate to shelters and kitchens who provide much-needed succour to the destitute, we can spare a penny for the desperate - but the simplest gift of all is just to be nice.
It’s counter-intuitive but Christmas and the end of the year are probably among the most stressful periods of the year; tempers fray, emotions boil over, things are said that really have no place at any time of the year, especially not now.
There’s been enough hate speech in the South African discourse this year - on all sides - let’s have a truce for the next 10 days at least, especially on social media.
We wish you all a merry Christmas.