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I wanted to write something about the approaching season, and found this column from five years ago. It said most of what I wanted to say so I used it as the basis for today’s offering.
There’s frenzy. And stillness. Gaiety and brooding. The full spectrum of human emotions stretches out like a taut string of Christmas lights every holiday season. For each strand of festivity, each friendly gathering, there is a bleak garland of loneliness and despondence.
People are bustling; shopping briskly and ticking off their to-do lists as they wrestle with traffic—both human and vehicular—that adds uncalculated hours to every excursion. Houses and yards get their annual makeover. Paint, curtains, new and refurbished furniture, appliances, form part of the stage props.
Plants are big sellers at this time of the year. Poinsettias make a killing. Have you ever noticed that no matter how grand or humble a home is, there are always plants on the premises?
I have always found that to be a remarkable aspect of the Caribbean aesthetic—not because we are unique in this manner; every culture surrounds its homesteads with gardens—but because we are generally very indifferent to our public spaces, malicious even.
Yet, foliage is an integral part of brightening up homes, giving them the finished look that homemakers work so hard to provide for this most popular of festivals.
(via Real Simple)
And as the countdown draws near to the grand finale on Christmas Day, the hustle reaches its pinnacle inside the ovens that are filled with the traditional fare: the hams and turkeys; the breads and cakes.
Cooks stretch themselves so thin that come the day itself, they are often too exhausted to partake in the merriment. But then the family gathers and somehow they muster up the requisite energy to join the activities.
It seems that there are many more entrepreneurs and establishments offering to take the cooking off your hands this year. Something to consider if you’ve had enough of doing it all yourself.
That is the vivacious end of the spectrum; the one that features in advertisements telling you about all the things you must have to make your Christmas merry and bright, the one that is depicted on cards, heralded in the music and all the other consumer-oriented devices targeted to make you shop and spend until the very last moment.
At the other end of that taut string of lights, the bulbs are dimmer, flickering really, as the sporadic bursts of hope and dreams spark life into spirits dampened by the absence of the “necessities” for cheer.
Those without friends and family, those without financial means, those who, for one reason or another, are separated from loved ones (a different state from those without friends and family), those who are ill and infirm, or lonely—there is an enormous community for whom the approach of these seasons brings dread and depression.
For this group, the sparkling baubles that illuminate those at the shiny end of the spectrum amplify the bleakness at the other end. They are painful reminders of absences.
The absence of companionship, the loneliness, and the lack of festive fare coalesce into a powerful force that dredges up existential questions that can be the plague of the human condition.
I am not trying to dampen anyone’s Christmas spirit by invoking unpleasant images. I am all in favour of everything that celebrates human relationships. I have no religious bones in my body; so my focus is on what I consider to be the essence of the season—not Christmas Day.
People get carried away with the trappings; with the marketing hype that defines for you what you need to go out and buy to bring happiness into your life. Much of it is unnecessary and to be honest, the sameness: the endless array of flashing lights and gigantic, gaudy trees; the mountains and mountains of things, they emphasise the materialistic core of our society.
(via Destination TNT)
I figure you could spend less on the flash, and devote some more time and energy to relationships. Connect with your friends and family; pay a visit to the relative who lives alone.
Instead of buying presents just to tick them off the list, pay attention to what people might really need or want. It makes such a difference to someone to know that thought went into their gift selection. The personal touch is what makes it special.
Over the years, I have tried to give edible presents to my friends and family because I like to cook. It might not seem like much, but it brings me great pleasure to create dishes or to make stuff I know they particularly enjoy.
(via Destination TNT)
It’s sometimes hard to get things for people who appear to have it all. Giving homemade things is actually the best part of the season for me.
Everyone has their own way of celebrating; and that is as it should be. It is a big time of the year; there is no doubt about that, but it is also a time when we can get too caught up in running around chasing after fripperies, and forget the spirit of the thing.
Times are hard, and with a month to go, it might be prudent to whittle things down to what matters most to you. Keeping it simple and sentimental might be just grand.
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Vaneisa Baksh is a columnist with the Trinidad Express, an editor and a cricket historian. She is the author of a biography of Sir Frank Worrell.
