The Holiday Season Beyond Boxes Wrapped, Bowed and Gifted
It’s that time of the year when Americans are booked and busy with celebratory traditions like tree trimming, neighborhood caroling, and family and friends fellowshipping. Whereas holidays have changed for many adults due to familiar losses, the capability of Christmas to spark wide-eyed wonderment in youth has not diminished one bit.
Although considered a US favorite, the religious occasion is marked with consumer travel and gift-giving magnetism which could tip global holiday spending scales of $1 trillion this year, according to retail forecasters.
Here at home, there’s no shortage of sparkling signage in seasonal hues, elaborate musical productions, themed parades, ugly sweater contests and neighborhoods decked out in dazzling decorations. The visual splendor delivered gets more magical with time and technology every year.
In other segments of the world, however, every child’s face may not be lighted up like traditional Christmas trees. Just as Emerson’s RE-youth learned earlier this year that clean drinking water is a privilege inaccessible worldwide, there are some neighbors on the planet who will be more consumed with survival than the holiday’s commercialism.
This December, Syrian Christians are preoccupied as families search body bags for signs of loved ones imprisoned during Bashar al-Assad’s reign. Recently overthrown by rebels, the government left the Syrian majority in an extreme poverty grip. Following the Thanksgiving holiday, Cubans grappled with power grid failure, news outlets reported. Due to the country’s aging infrastructure and fuel inaccessibility, citizens have suffered recurring deprivation.
Seventy percent of Central African Republic’s population topping five million identify as Christian and live in extreme poverty. Furthermore, the area’s infant mortality rate is said to be one of the highest in the world.
Unlike the young who’ve yet to develop a deep religious foundation, throngs of holiday observers realize the reason for the season goes beyond gift boxes elaborately wrapped and bowed. In the height of our celebratory delight, we mustn’t forget those far and near without basic human necessities like water, food, and electricity.
My holiday wish for those in faraway places excludes a Santa-driven sleigh loaded with gifts or scintillating light shows. Nevertheless, my wish is one hope-filled for the yield of greater peace through much needed relief efforts. Contribution to community has its greatest impact when holiday cheer is spread and shared in ways essential to others.
May your spirits and those that you touch shine brightly!
Shari Wright, UU Education Coordinator
