Who ever thought we would see a Christmas season where we would receive zero cards?
Maybe you have been luckier than me, but three Christmases in a row now and not a single Christmas card addressed to me or the family. Just those annoying, blinking e-cards on WhatsApp. To be fair, I have also not signed any cards in that period.
What has happened to Christmas as we knew it?
I particularly loved standing at the Christmas tree to take down and read the cards, one by one, then ooh-aah at who surprisingly sent a sweet card, or which one had poetic text. Not anymore. And it is not just me; I overheard someone else ask whether downtown Kampala still has those card vendors that would leave some with melodies open to noisily attract buyers.
Now the hustle is real. Instead of sending one another cards, or investing in the heavy foods, it seems Christmas is now the season for fulfilling resolutions.
Ask the carpenters; they probably don’t sell more sofa sets at any other time of the year like they do at Christmas. And the same goes for purchases of land and home appliances; the effort to beautify our homes at Christmas now goes beyond the general cleaning that characterized Christmases past.
And just like Muslim weddings increase as they approach the month of Ramadan, December weddings are also an in-thing now. I think more than it signifying the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ, Christmas in a hustler’s world today is a tolling bell reminding us that the year is ending, and we still have a list of resolutions we have not met.
Hence this rush to tie up loose ends; wed that girl, buy the flat screen TV, make a step towards owning your own home, etc. That is why I stopped making New Year resolutions about ten years ago. Now I let God surprise me, because I cannot handle the emotional pressure unmet resolutions bring around this time of the year!
Even this year, I don’t have a list of resolutions. I believe that my God shall supply all my needs according to His riches in glory. Otherwise, planning for a new year and failing to fulfill those plans can be a real source of depression, from experience.
So, in 2023 dear Lord, let Your will be done in me, as it is in heaven. Amen. And for you, may the New Year surpass all your expectations and resolutions.
malita@observer.ug
Source: The Observer