Whatever one may think of Christmas, there is something about the season that seems to mark a noticeable change in attitude and expectation compared to what things were up to November 30.

For those in the merchant class, it is an air of anticipation that somehow the deficits that they have faced in their businesses can be reversed by more bullish sales. And this applies to small and big merchants alike. Their hope is that their financial positions will be overcome and somehow their accounts will end up in the black. Even for the people hustling in the streets, or who have stalls in one of our markets, there is hope that as Christmas rolls around they will experience a bounce in their sales which they never had during the year.

For others more religiously inclined, it is a time to remember what the season is truly about: The celebration of the birth of the Christ Child. Increasingly, things of this nature are losing importance in a technologically driven world in which people are divesting themselves of any trappings of religious observance or belief. The truth is that, for many people today, religious observances or belief in God no longer holds the importance they once did as an organising principle for how they live their lives. These are relics of a past which is no longer relevant to the imperatives of living in the modern age.

But for those inclined to these observances, Christmas is a time for reflection, even briefly, as they dutifully attend church services. For them the significance is not in the date or even time of the birth of Christ, but resides in the belief that the Son of God came and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth as the writer of the Gospel of John states in his prologue. For the more deeply inclined, Christmas and the season of Advent which preceded it, is a time for personal reflection on the state of their lives which may lead to resolutions for change as the new year beckons.

It might be a time for personal cleansing, for personal decluttering pretty much as we seek to remove the clutter in our homes and create a cleaner space of which our visitors can be proud. Just as we tear down the old curtains or put a new coat of paint on the walls, so should there be the necessity to tear down old assumptions and philosophies by which we have lived but which have given no great meaning and purpose to our lives. And we know what those curtains are which we have put up to shield us from the irritation we feel from onlookers.

Somehow, we seem to be more fearful of the critique that other people make of our lives than that which we ought to make of ourselves, however uncomfortable the results may be. We are not willing to confront the demons in our own lives. Yet, without an acknowledgement of the presence of these demons, there can be no exorcism. Here I could be speaking literally and figuratively. Hence the difficulty to be willing and bold enough to make the changes that are necessary. As the great Greek philosopher Socrates warned so many years ago, the unexamined life is not worth living. Such a life is one devoid of meaning, purpose, and value.

I am not surprised, then, that so many people go about life unhinged and unmoored from any overarching moral values to constrain them. They live in ambivalence and uncertainty, in chaos and anxiety, and often in pitiful dependence on mind-altering substances to give them solace.

I know that there are those for whom Christmas is not a time when joy, peace, or hope are most prominent in their thoughts. I think, for example, of the family that has lost loved ones to tragic crashes on the road, or who became victims of the senseless gun violence that has taken too many lives in our beloved country. I think of the family that is still picking up the pieces after fire destroyed their homes. I think of those who are still slaves to addictive substances and who, despite their best efforts, have not been able to shake these life-destroying habits. They dread the season for this is when their anxiety levels rise; when the battle not to indulge is at its fiercest; and when loneliness and fear become their constant companions.

In many parts of the world there are pains that we continue to inflict on each other through the hubris of war and our inability or unwillingness to recognise the dignity of all people. One thinks of the many Israeli families who continue to mourn the loss of their loved ones following the barbaric attack and pillaging of their homes by Hamas on October 7. But one is equally horrified by the almost criminal and certainly genocidal response of the Israeli Government in Gaza, where the blood of too many innocent children and the elderly cry out from unmarked graves.

The whole Middle East is a smouldering cauldron of hate. It never ceases to amaze me that the land of the birth of the Prince of Peace, the cradle of the three major religions of the world-Judaism, Christianity and Islam, is the most hate-filled and dangerous place on planet Earth. This is the backdrop that meets the celebration of Christmas this year.

The truth is that our world is in trouble and this is largely the result of the abysmal breakdown of executive leadership around the world. This has to be the subject of another column, but as the forces of autocracy take centre stage in so many countries, including the United States, expect 2025 to be a year of tumult and further pain. Still, we cannot lose hope. If there is going to be peace, then it has to begin with each one us, in our own little space or environment doing whatever we can to quench the thirst for revenge and reprisal. My hope is that we can overcome the darkness in us that cause us to be evil and embrace the light that truly makes a difference.

I wish for you, Dear Reader a pleasant, thoughtful, restful, and peaceful Christmas experience. There is more to life than you are making it out to be.

Dr Raulston Nembhard is a priest, social commentator, and author of the books: Finding Peace in the Midst of Life’s Storms; The Self-esteem Guide to a Better Life and Beyond Petulance: Republican Politics and the Future of America. Check out his podcast, Mango Tree Dialogues, on his YouTube channel. Send comments to the Jamaica Observer or stead6655@aol.com.