Christmas As It Used to Be, As It Should Be

In this article, Dr Elsa Lycias Joel reflects on her childhood Christmas experiences. She notes that modern living room conversations often focus on the bygone era when Christmas held more profound meaning than just cakes, gifts, and carol services. Despite concerns about the future decline of the Christmas spirit, she highlights the present season as an opportunity for connection, reconciliation, and meaningful conversations. The power of "Merry Christmas" becomes even merrier when shared with a small cake in hand.

- Dr Elsa Lycias Joel

Every year by the end of October, I receive frequent calls and emails from family and friends wanting to know what’s happening at my end or how Christmas is going to be or if I’ll visit my mom. Something about Christmas motivates people to connect. Then the conversation continues until Christmas gets over or we meet and make up for the lost months or maybe years. Two reasons behind all these are the closing down of offices and companies for Christmas or people exhausting their excessive leave balance. Whether we live in a village or a city or a town, Christmas brings an aura unknown to all irrespective of their faith or religion, as a result of which people transform into beautiful welcoming and hospitable beings. This season gives everyone an opportunity to build a connection, make amends over a wrong, conquer all inhibitions to invite and get invited for a good chat and try to resolve imaginary hostilities, all with those two words ‘Merry Christmas’, which sounds merrier with a small cake in hand. These magical 12 days of Christmas fly by as fast as the Peregrine Falcons and most people find themselves too busy to share a smile or a kind word, forget receiving a reply in one complete sentence.