The Urban Dictionary defines ‘whoppy’ as a very ugly situation. This Christmas season Jamaicans, no doubt, would want to have a merry, exciting, fun-filled, and memorable holiday season, but there are so many negative factors that may present themselves, most of which are man-made. A large number of Jamaicans pronounce this Christian holiday period as “Chrismus”, and as the song says, “C is for Christmas, the season of good cheer”, but will it be so?

C is also for crime and, unfortunately, many people with criminal intentions become very active during this festive season. One such miscreant is the pickpocket who looks forward to this time when there is plenty money circulating in people’s pockets. They usually operate in crowded areas on the streets; in passenger vehicles, especially packed buses or taxis; markets; and supermarkets as well as bus stops, among other vulnerable spots. Women and the elderly are usually the most targeted as they tend to be easily distracted, which is when these wily thieves choose to make a kill. Of course, the cellphone thieves are to be found any and everywhere looking for the opportunity to grab and flee.

Burglaries, robberies, and hold-ups become commonplace at Christmas as many, young men in particular, want to have money to attend the numerous entertainment events as well as provide for their “mateys”, cronies, and families as many goodies as possible. The police high command has been assuring us as well as warning us to be careful during the season, so let us take heed.

Another criminal pastime that becomes even more prevalent during this holiday season is praedial larceny. There is much feasting and partying which makes the demand for meat very high, particularly for goat meat (mutton). My sympathy goes out to the goat farmers who will suffer tremendous losses as curried goat is a very popular menu item at Christmas. Indeed, there is a cartoon circulating on social media showing a goat way up on a roof being hounded by some men, and the animal’s response is, “Go curry uno mumma, me nah come down until after Chrismus!” Unfortunately, our domestic animals are not as fortunate as those who inhabited the manger with the baby Jesus.

C is also for crashes as, unfortunately, motor vehicle collisions tend to happen more frequently during the Christmas season. Already, well over 400 Jamaicans have been killed on our roads so far, and pundits have predicted that the country may well surpass last year’s figure of 478 (thereabouts) as the carnage continues, seemingly unabated. Speeding and overtaking are the major causes of these oftentimes fatal mishaps, and there is emerging evidence which suggests that, apart from heavy alcohol consumption, ganja smoking and the ingesting of certain banned substances, including the infamous Molly, are what is adding fuel to the fire, so to speak. Greater surveillance on our roads, including the use of the breathalyser test, speed traps, and spot checks must be intensified at this time if lives are to be saved.

However, there is also the business of personal responsibility, which must be emphasised. Incidentally, with the likelihood of more cash being in circulation as a result of the big government payout to public sector workers, many people may get carried away and throw caution to the wind. To be warned is to be forearmed. Spend wisely and judiciously.

And whatever happened to the ‘Christ’ in Christmas? There was a time when Jamaicans treated this holy season with greater reverence and spiritual intensity. Now there is more emphasis on the spirits (hard liquor) than on the Holy Spirit these days.

It is fashionable, even more so among young people, to get drunk at Christmas. I well recall the first time I became inebriated at the age of 17. A group of us boys journeyed to downtown Montego Bay where we set out to imbibe as much rum as possible in order to “get on bad”. In fact, to speed up the process we would hold down our heads to allow the alcohol to seep into our brains in order to get drunk quicker. Pretty soon I was stepping very high, the room became a merry-go-round, and a feeling of euphoria persisted for a while until nausea set in, followed by excessive vomiting. Eventually we headed back home on foot — we were broke — walking over four miles in the dark, sometimes swaggering in the middle of the road. Luckily, in those days we were more afraid of “duppies” than gunmen.

Carol singing was very popular back then and my mother would wake us up very early in the morning while trimming the Home Sweet Home lamps so that we could read from our hymn books as we sang such Christmas favourites as O Little Town of Bethlehem, Silent Night, Holy Night, and Away in a Manger. Nowadays, very few kids and young adults know or sing these carols. Just this week, while listening to the Ron Muschette Morning Show on Edge 105 FM, there was a giveaway segment where a lucky listener who called in with the right answers would win two tickets to the annual Kingston College Boys Choir Christmas Concert, but, alas, no one called in, leaving the host to quip that if it were tickets for the Burna Boy show the phone lines would be jammed.

Needless to say, many of us continue to hark back to the good old days when Christmas was celebrated by observing the true meaning of the season — peace on Earth and goodwill to all mankind.

Children, too, another C, were the centrepiece of most celebrations, receiving lots of toys and goodies which Santa Claus, real or imagined, would bring. I am reminded of an incident in Sam Sharpe Square (then called Charles Square) when a little boy, having seen a huge star glowing at the top of the municipal Christmas tree, screamed, “Momma, look pon the moon pon stick!” Today, it’s all about tablets and video games. How times have changed, for better or worse.

This Christmas let us all try to avoid the bad Cs and focus on charity, caring, and being careful and compassionate. After all, who wants a whoppy Christmas?

Lloyd B Smith has been involved full-time in Jamaican media for the past 45 years. He has also served as a Member of Parliament and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives. He hails from western Jamaica where he is popularly known as the Governor. Send comments to the Jamaica Observer or lbsmith4@gmail.com.