“And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.” – LUKE 2:7 –
Christmas has become, of course, the greatest festival of consumer capitalism in Belize and in the world. Yet, the event we are supposed to be celebrating, represented the antithesis of the business spectacle we now call Christmas. The Son of God was born in a stable, and His parents were so poor they wrapped Him in swaddling clothes and laid Him in a manger. That was two thousand years ago, as the Holy Bible has told the story. Today, those who are considered as best celebrating Christmas, are those who can do the most shopping, buy the most food and serve the most expensive drinks.
There is nothing to be done about what Christmas has become. This is the way it is. It’s business. And Christmas is about a lot of increased energy and extra work. Everyone is trying to celebrate the festival, and ensure that the children have a good experience for the Pascua. There is nothing wrong with that.
The editorial is about identifying and highlighting those aspects of our Christmas which best represent the spirit of the first Christmas. The organization which roots people consider the most purely Christian, is the Salvation Army. The bigger churches are about vestments and ceremonies and rituals. The Salvation Army is about service and attention to the people – the humble people. Its record in Belize has been remarkable, and Christmas is the only time the work of the Salvation Army receives real recognition and support.
As the days go by and we come closer to Christmas Day itself, we Belizeans will become more spiritual. We will begin to consider the Christ Child and His significance, more seriously. Yes, as a people we have become more materialistic. The reasons for this are multiple. Belize has been opened up to the rest of the world – by way of television, by way of tourism and by way of immigration. The rest of the world was always more materialistic than Belize was, because life was harder out there. In Belize, we were poor, but we did not know that we were poor. Outside of Belize, people knew exactly what poverty was and what riches were. Today in Belize, we roots Belizeans have “gotten the sense” of poverty and riches. The difference between the rich and the poor here has grown and grown in the last two decades. But Christmas in Belize, as consumer oriented as it is, is the time of the year – the day itself, when most of us find wonderful spiritual things to celebrate, especially the spirit of family and friends. Christmas Day is one day, generally speaking, when we do not envy each other and we are not jealous of each other.
Depictions of the birth of the Christ Child give us a sense of the great but quiet joy and the personal fulfillment of Mary and Joseph. The miracle of the Child’s birth overcomes all the circumstances of His birth, all the poverty and hardship involved with the manger and the stable. In their own way, Joseph and Mary were king and queen on Christmas Day, because for them their baby boy was a prince. Father, mother and child. Blessed.
The newspaper’s feeling is one of upliftment and hope as we draw near to Christmas. We Belizeans have our problems. They are chronicled in our pages from week to week. And yes, the Christmas season is more dominated by consumer capitalism than it should be. At the end of the Christmas journey, however, we always find our spirituality. We always find our love.
Joy to the world. Joy to Belize.