SOME say Christmas isn't what it used to be. The critics blame the rise in consumerism and binge drinking for the festive season losing its sparkle, but the reality is that someone has always been saying the same thing.
"It really is an atrocious institution this Christmas. We must be drunken because it is Christmas. We must be insincerely generous; we must buy things that nobody wants and give them to people we don't like, all because it is Christmas". The words of
George Bernard Shaw, written in 1893 and making even Ebeneezer Scrooge look kindly.
Life has changed greatly since then. From over-the-counter hangover cures to high street shopping with healthy disposable incomes, compared to our ancestors we've really never had it so good. So why aren't we happier? As a society, why aren't we getting ready to celebrate the best Christmas ever?
"Lonely this Christmas" was a festive hit for Mud nearly 30 years ago. Thanks to downloads, it's now back in the charts and its morose message is as relevant as ever. For those without something to celebrate, this is the hardest time of the year.
Christmas is a moment for reflection. The ritual and routine associated with the celebration makes for inevitable comparisons with what has gone before.
The anticipation of Christmas Eve and the ecstasy of Christmas Day morning burns deep memories, and we easily remember the happy times in the past. But as we grow older, or some of the cast of characters disappear, the experience changes.
To the bereaved and the sick, the enforced jollity all around seems to make personal misery even harder to endure. These are the people who really need Christmas. These are the people who embody what the festive season should be about.
For the Donachie family from Edinburgh, this will be their first Christmas without four-year-old Olivia, killed by a hit-and-run drug driver in May. With help from loved ones, they will no doubt make the best of things for the other children in the family but it will be hard, and they should be in our thoughts this Christmas.
Then there are the elderly who, through fate or circumstances, face spending the next week alone when everyone else is gathered with their nearest and dearest. Latest estimates from Age Concern suggest up to half a million older people will be completely on their own over Christmas.
One charity for the elderly encountered a pensioner who was so devoid of friends and family she sent only a single Christmas card – to herself. With even the postman on holiday, all human contact simply disappears, leaving the housebound terribly isolated and vulnerable. But we can all do something about that.
In our increasingly busy lives, there is one gift that money cannot buy. For many families the best thing about Christmas is that, for a few precious days, the whole family are together. As the nation with some of the longest working hours in Europe, Christmas is a rare opportunity to stop and simply be together.
Trawling the shops this weekend for gifts or queuing in the butcher for that giant turkey, we will all be up against the clock. With only a few days left, everyone shares a sense of time running out to get things done before the big day arrives. In the background also is the intimation that another Christmas passing means another year less ahead for us, personally.
Forget PlayStations, iPods or expensive toys, the most precious gift any of us can offer this Christmas is Time. It costs us nothing to give but comes from a limited stock we have at our disposal. Best of all, Christian believers or not, it is easy to share with others.
Maybe it's just letting the young mum with the overflowing trolley and the screaming toddler go before us in the supermarket. Perhaps it's just letting the man in the white van out from the side road, or it could be taking a box of chocolates to the elderly person down the road, who doesn't seem to get many visitors. A simple act of kindness, sacrificing a tiny bit of our own time, could be the kindest gift of all and a reminder of what makes Christmas so special.
Running through all the daft headlines about carol singers being banned from shopping malls and manger scenes receiving police protection is a quite touching sense that something that binds us all together is threatened.
Whether it be political correctness now, or excess drinking and shopping a century ago, we have always feared and hopefully will always fear the most precious time of the year is under threat and needs protecting. Well, despite the threat of terrorism and over-zealous officialdom, Christmas has survived so let's make the most of it. For a few days, we will laugh a little louder and sneer a little less.
As someone once said: "At Christmas we try to be the people we always wanted to be". When it comes, however you spend it, have a Happy Christmas.
Glorious display of wanton greedON Christmas Day we will apparently consume on average about 4000 calories after all the wine, mince pies and brandy butter have been taken into account.
Isn't it comforting that in these days of obsessive health and fitness, we can still find one day for a good old fashioned display of absolute wanton gluttony.
Singing brings out a yuletide glowI SPENT last weekend in Prague, which must rival Edinburgh for Christmas spirit. It wasn't so much the freezing temperatures, fir trees and Christmas markets; what really made the city feel festive was the sound of singing everywhere.
All the churches had Christmas concerts taking place and in the heart of the Old Town and local choirs queued up to entertain shoppers from the main stage. Edinburgh must have plenty of school groups or Cubs and Brownies who would love the chance to perform carols in Winter Wonderland. I'm sure even the staff would be glad of a break from Slade singing Merry Xmas Everybody.
