Giving peace a chance
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: December 25, 2009 -

The core value and meaning of Christmas, which is to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, who was sent to save mankind, may not have changed much, though it is doubtful whether all remember its core value each year when December 25 dawns.

Today is Christmas and while the day is all about celebrating the birth of the Saviour of mankind, it also stands true that like all other festivals, Christmas too has not remained unaffected by the fast changing world.

With the world today practically a global village, Christmas time is also big time for corporate houses, eateries, the entertainment sector, the event managers etc etc.

With so many goodies available in the market now, presents for the kids today are no more merely about buying a set of new clothes, or new woollens or coats of jackets, but about a whole plethora of gadgets, which were not even thought of earlier. In other words the choice is limitless.

Family dinner is no longer about the quiet sit down eating time, with the mother or the father or the head of the family saying grace and passing the special dish of the day around.

It is much more than that. For those who can afford it, it means dinner at some fancy eating places, with the chefs rustling up something exotic, which were not available earlier.

Such a state may not exactly hold true in Manipur, but there can be no denying the fact that celebrating the day has undergone drastic changes in the last many years. In the hill villages, which are inhabited predominantly by Christians, Christmas meant a time for family re-union.

A time when students studying away from the villages return home for their Christmas holiday. It meant a time for the poultry to be slaughtered to welcome those coming back and it also meant a time for the villagers to lay back, and savour the fruits of labour, which have just been harvested. This was the picture many years back.

Christmas time also meant family shopping, which may include picking up a second hand sweater each for all the siblings.

From December 23 or 24, it meant days of sports and festivities till January 1, that is the first day of the New Year. And who can forget the Chini Gur and the community or locality feasting held on New Year. All these have undergone changes in the villages.

Change, this is something that cannot be stopped, for the world is always on a trot and a fast one at that. It is only expected that Christmas too would be affected by the changes that we see all around.

However despite these changes, the need to preserve the meaning of the core value or message of Christmas should not be lost on anyone.

It is the day to celebrate the birth of the Saviour of mankind and by this we may understand it as spreading the message of love, forgiveness and piety. Let the message of Christmas choir reach out to each and every soul. Let this be the day of sharing and loving.

Let everyone give peace a chance, for Christmas to have any real meaning.

Let the message of Jesus Christ reverberate through.

Merry Christmas to you all.