Christmas is…

Christmas is a wonderful word because it means a lot of things: lights, colors, music, hope, happiness, peace…

For people who believe in God, Christmas represents Christ coming to the Earth with a plan for our redemption. For others it is just big parties, cozy homes and gifts to be shared.

Christmas is a joyous time and we should celebrate it with all our hearth. Certainly, we should enjoy the parties, food and gifts, but we shouldn’t forget the real meaning of Christmas that is love, simplicity and solidarity.

So, what can we do to make a difference this Christmas?

Christmas is a time to be thankful for all people we love in our life. So we could write gratitude notes to all our loved ones.

Christmas is not just receiving presents, it’s about giving them as well, especially to those who are less fortunate as we are. So, we could distribute gifts to the children who are alone.

To strengthen the sense of community we could send sweets or simple gifts to all our neighbors.

Visiting and keeping the elderly company could be a good idea too. Old people often feel alone and talking to them could make them happy and less lonely.

if we know someone who is looking for a pet, we could give him an abandoned puppy rather than buying one.

There are a lot of things we can do to improve people’s life and not just at Christmas time but all year round.

Do you remember The “Hugging Day”? Well, we could think about a “Smiling Day” or better about a “Smiling time” and say not just “Hello” or “Goodbye” but give a smile to the people we meet. A smile costs nothing and it can often brighten people’s day. I know, in this time of pandemic, we must wear the mask but it can hide our mouths, not our eyes that can express our feelings as well.

And what about a space on the webpage of English News where we can offer something that may be useful to us or to someone we know?

While Santa Claus, presents and decorations are the main attractions today, the values of Christmas are different.

Merry Christmas to you all!