Christmas is almost upon us. Though, I do not celebrate Christmas at home, it has been a part of my life since childhood. The festival wasn’t celebrated at all in North India where I spent my childhood years. But, I had my own exposure through the nuns and priests of convents where I schooled. I was usually a part of the choir singing Christmas carols. “Silent Night” and “O come, All Ye Faithful” I can still sing to the tune along with “Jingle Bells”. We heard Christmas tales and about Santa Claus, but otherwise the celebrations were muted.
Fast forward to two and a half decades later. Here in Bangalore, nowadays, all festivals have become reduced to consumerism. Christmas sales are on in full swing. Anything and everything is paraded as a Christmas gift, decoration or food. In my kids’ school, they sometimes celebrate Secret Santa by encouraging them to bring gifts for their friends. But, this year they decided to do something wonderful and unique. The idea was to give gifts to children living in two slums nearby. The gifts had to be newly bought (thankfully)! We all know how some of us dump our used clothes and stuff we wish to dispose of in the name of charity. These gifts had to be neatly gift wrapped and packed in shoeboxes. Both my sons had to do this exercise. I loved seeing their enthusiasm in deciding what to give.
Then I went and bought the gifts they had mentioned which comprised of pretty notebooks and lots of nice stationery to go with it. This gesture not only taught them the importance of giving but also of bringing smiles to the faces of children less fortunate than they are. After all, isn’t the festive spirit all about sharing and giving. And what better way than to involve them in gifting!
I completely loved this idea to sensitize the children about social issues around them. The fact that they chose the gifts and did the entire exercise with excitement was heartwarming.
Wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. While you celebrate, do spare a thought to those less fortunate. Spread cheer by giving to some cause, any cause that appeals to you.
And now, I leave you with the song (my favorite) that inspired the title of this post.
PS: I also made my appearance on Huffington Post India with this post about Six things we can learn from our Children. Do give it a read and let me know your views. Thanks!
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