The message of UNIVERSAL LOVE
Rodney Martinesz
Another Christmas has dawned with the cheery feeling evident all
round. The run up to Christmas as always is a hive of activity with
brisk shopping and hectic preparations. The streets are choked with
milling crowds grabbing up the Christmas bargains and Yuletide
perennials blare forth from record bars and sundry shops sending that
special feeling coursing through your veins. There is also that nip in
the air this time of the year mingling with the scented cypresses lined
up for sale on city pavements and shops. It is also the time for big
business.
Rubicund cheeked Santa Clauses beam out from shop windows advertising
the latest brands. Special Christmas hampers are laid out at
supermarkets and luxury stores. It is holiday time with school vacations
on and office workers taking their annual leave in bulk. Peoples' faces
mirror a general air of gaiety and joy filled with a sense of
anticipation.
Present day Christmas celebrations have changed over the years in
tempo and form. Christmas shopping in the past was a leisurely affair
unlike today's mad scramble. Though salaries were small compared to the
present day there was always plenty in reserve for Christmas. The lavish
bonuses dished out by many Mercantile firms helped fuel the Christmas
cheer.
Shoppers also had their favourite stores unlike today when everything
could be bought under one roof. Alas, most of these landmarks are no
more although old timers still speak of them with a sense of nostalgia.
Festivity
Christmas was also a much looked forward to event in the now almost
extinct Burgher community which dominated many pockets in the Colombo
city areas such as Hulftsdorp, Princess gate Grandpass and Kotahena. For
them Christmas was all about merriment and revelry with no expenses
spared. For them Christmas was a day for Bachchanial roister that began
days before the event and progressing well into the new year.
The preceding weeks were devoted to stocking up where the stores were
conveyed in the then ubiquitous rickshaws. Central to the run up to
Christmas was the preparation of the Christmas cake for which the
assorted ingredients were preserved in jars months ahead. Carols were
another feature sung with gusto to perfect harmonising by members of the
family and extended family.
In the weeks preceding X'mas it is also common to see carol singers
parading the streets in groups donned in fancy attire visiting every
home collecting in the process a substantial purse invariably spent on
binges. All this culminate in the midnight mass where the church
overflows with the pious and the once a year church goers.
It goes without saying that Christmas is a universal festival
celebrated across different faiths, cultures and ethnic boundaries. No
matter what gloom has descended the X'mas spirit cannot be dampened.
This is why even amidst the worst economic depression to hit the Western
world Christmas is celebrate without let or hindrance among these
societies.
But is Christmas that marks the birth of Christ the savior of mankind
observed in the way it should? Is this great event heralding peace joy
and salvation to the world being abused and distorted? Sadly amid the
babel and humdrum surrounding the Christmas festivities the underlining
message denoting the true meaning of the event lost. Christmas today has
been associated with unbridled commercialism and the cacophony of the
market place.
Nay Christmas has today become a commodity in the hands of
multinational behemoths to rake in the shekels. Greed has overtaken the
true message and meaning of Christmas which is sacrificed on the altar
of mammon.
Humble birth
It is all too evident that Christmas today has been hi- hijacked by
business interests. It has become an occasion to bolster trade and
business connection. Expensive hampers and other goodies are exchanged
for favours in return - all in the backdrop of Christmas .s ties.
The contrast with the humble birth of the Christ Child in a manger
surrounded by poor shepherds cannot be more glaring. Symbols such as the
Christmas Tree, the crib are only tokens for unbridled jollity. Sadly
even the Church today has failed to get across the true message of
Christmas to its flock.
As a result, the spirit of giving, sharing and caring for the poor
which is the essence of Christmas is subsumed in glitter of the
festivities and merryment.
The level of commercialization of Christmas can be seen by the giant
structures of the Nativity scenes adorning the frontages of supermarkets
and shopping malls, the epitomes of luxury, ostentation and
profiteering. Santa Clause is but a clownish figures doing his thing
opposite shops and store fronts.
Christmas should be rescued from the grip of mammon and made to
revisit its true origins and hallowed message.
It should be rescued from the status of a commodity and salvaged from
exploitation by the unscrupulous for profit and gain. A huge
responsibility lies with the church and its guardians to redeem this
most hallowed festival from its current decadence.
The underlying message of Christmas should be dinned into the
faithful with more emphasis and vigor so that they will be enriched and
inspired by the universal massage of that far away first Christmas. |