LEVANTE LIFESTYLE

FESTIVE SEASON REFLECTIONS

By Catherine Elelman

The end of a calendar year is a natural time for reflection. The importance of the religious festivals and celebrations is an unavoidable reminder that another 12 months has gone by. No doubt the rich food, extra tippling and time out from work and everyday responsibilities makes us more pensive too, further prompting a personal review of our achievements and failures, our highs and our lows, our periods of happiness and the moments of sadness and pain.

In the Western world at least we often treat 1st January as an opportunity to make some form of fresh start. We make New Year resolutions to be healthier and more positive, to give up certain habits, to acquire a new skill, to be less selfish and to devote more time to others. More often than not however we’ve given up on or entirely forgotten our pledges for personal improvement even before the end of the January sales.

But what if we reflected and strived to be better, more caring individuals as a matter of course instead of only during the ‘season of joy and goodwill to all men’? Or, at the risk of sounding dangerously cheesy, wouldn’t the world be a better place all-round if good intentions weren’t just reserved for Christmas and the New Year high jinks, like mince pies and kissing complete strangers under the mistletoe.

I think the best thing about the Festive Season is that it does make people more aware of those who are less fortunate than themselves. We stage fund-raising events, donate money to charities, perhaps actively get out there and take part in a hands-on effort to make the lives of the sick, the poor or the homeless happier.

But there is also a deeply cynical side of me which believes our Christmas time beneficent actions are above all else a reflection of the fact this is traditionally a time of surrounding ourselves with family and friends, of over spending and of excess. The contrast between haves and have nots, both materially and emotionally, is greatly exacerbated, and perhaps our charitable actions make us feel more comfortable about our overindulgences.

“I wish it could be Christmas every day”, some dodgy early seventies band told us in one of those naff songs which lodges in the sub-conscious and drives you nuts. And I wish thinking about and acting on the sentiments which are highlighted at this time of year were part of everyday life.