Christmas is regarded as a time for love, giving and receiving; and spending time with loved ones.
The bright lights create a magnificent ambience that it feels good to just be there, even if you are not shopping.
I went into town last weekend and heard Andy Williams’ ‘Its the most wonderful time of the year’, so many times that I started singing it to myself as I was walking out of the mall to the car park.
The song goes:
With the kids jingle belling
And everyone telling you be of good cheer
It’s the most wonderful time of the year
With those holiday greetings and gay happy meetings
When friends come to call
It’s the hap-happiest season of all
Marshmallows for toasting
And caroling out in the snow
There’ll be scary ghost stories
And tales of the glories of
Christmases long, long ago
There’ll be much mistletoeing
And hearts will be glowing
When loved ones are near
It’s the most wonderful time of the year
I was interrupted by a homeless man asking for change and as I rummaged through my purse, I realised that it’s actually not a wonderful time of the year for everyone.
During my drive home, I started thinking about the people that didn’t have the pleasure of enjoying the festive season like everybody else.
Christmas is a time for films that portray fairytales, magic and happy ever afters but our real lives are far from that.
Christmas doesn’t heal mankind’s pain or change lives or make people that didn’t like each other start getting on.
There are many reasons why Christmas may not be a good time for some;
It is also hard on the children to go through such a change and the parent that they are left with may be worse off financially after the separation, making holidays difficult.
Those who have been diagnosed with terminal illnesses and their families would not enjoy the festive period because they are feeling anxious over the illness.
Some people can’t afford the amounts of food, beautiful decorations and nice presents that other people give to their children and families at Christmas.
There are some people whose families live too far away from them, possibly in another country and being together at Christmas just isn’t possible. Some have been deployed for work and can not make it home to spend time with their families.
Depression and anxiety also seem to heighten during the holidays due to the family demands which can sometimes be stressful, taking on too much and being unable to manage expectations.
There are other times of the year that can be enjoyed too and we need not set unrealistic expectations to try to be like others or to keep in with other peoples standards.
We may have friends, neighbours or relatives who experience mental health problems or are just alone and this is always a great time to let them know how much we care about them and that we are there for them during this period; if they need a place to be or just to chat.
For you it may not be much, but it could make someone else’s Christmas better.