Christmas is for everyone!

Well there's no getting away from it now, Christmas is after all less than two weeks away. But is the spirit of Christmas really just for God-fearing religious types? I'm sure we all know a stereotypical corner shop owner, who would not let their shop be seen without its festoons, (don't ya just love that word? 'festoons' it just sounds SO jolly!) trees and other decorations. Sadly, it often seems to be only members of the 'indigenous' population who take up arms on behalf of the minorities, and warn the rest of us about the "offence" that would be caused by the rest of us parading our Christian-based heritage, in front of them.

One of the big messages of Christmas is "peace on earth, and goodwill to ALL men", (and probably the ladies too!) then surely the participation of any so called 'non-Christian minorities' in the spirit of Christmas should be encouraged! We do live in a so-called multicultural society, and I think it has, slowly, sunk in that if we all want to get along with each other, then taking part in a bit of mainstream Christmasness does no harm at all.

I can see why some people are a bit cynical about it all these days though. I mean, you don't need to be a happy clappy Christian to see that so much of the message of Christmas has got lost in commercialism and materialism. Sadly, that has long been the case. Many British firms, especially retailers, would go bust without Christmas. Slow springs and sluggish summers can be managed if the spending spree comes, as usual, during the late autumn. So really the sad truth is, the commercialism of Christmas, seems to be very important to our economic well being and there's very little we can do about that.

Perhaps many of us have just lost that inner child, when it comes to Christmas? That magical innocence and wide-eyed wonder that can only be felt when you let yourself go and give in to that Christmassy feeling. So seek out your inner child and let the true Spirit of Christmas shine out. When we greet people should say "Merry Christmas" and mean it! Christmas is so much more than time off work or even a religious celebration. Christmas is all about love, peace, joy, hope, and compassion. In fact it's about the very best bits of each and every one of us, no matter who we are or where we're from.

Do look after yourselves, and each other.
Oh and a VERY merry Christmas to you!