To say that Christmas is the most popular and widely celebrated religious feast in the world is to state the obvious. It is celebrated with gusto, and one marked feature is the show of compassion and exchange of love and gifts among people, even non-Christians. Coming towards the end of the year, also makes it all the more popular.
In this part of the world, it is no less popular. It has become a period in which many Nigerians from all over the world want to come home and reunite with their kit and kin. They come from overseas and from the cities and those they come to see always look forward with excitement to their arrival.
However, over the years, the joy of Christmas has been blighted by the activities of people who seem to understand and perceive the occasion differently. These are people whose only desire is to show off and to announce that they have made it, through fair or foul means. It has sadly turned the period into one of heightened criminal activities and desperation to make money at all costs. It has also become a period when people are warned to be apprehensive as any mistake or carelessness can cost one their money or even life.
Just last Friday, a young man gave a ride to an old man in Awka after making the old man think he was a friend of his son. He asked the old man if his phone received alerts as his son wanted to send him money. He took the man’s ATM card and swapped it and told the man to await an alert. After he dropped off the old man, the alerts he started receiving on his phone turned out to be debit alerts and before he knew it, his money had been emptied. This is one among many things people do to get money this period.
And what do they do with such money? They lavish it on parties, women, expensive cars and chieftaincy titles. They compete among themselves on who spends the highest money on what are mostly frivolities. That is as bad as things have become.
Even the ones who make money off their legitimate work, forget to show compassion to the poor. They concentrate on amassing titles and showing off.
The Catholic Supreme Pontiff, Pope Leo XIV, in his Christmas message emphasized the importance of peace, love, and unity. He encouraged people to make peace with someone close to them before Christmas, saying it was a gift more valuable than anything bought in stores. The Pope highlighted that peace wasn’t just the absence of war, but a friendship among people founded on justice.
He also described Christmas as a time to proclaim love and unity, inspired by the carols and the birth of Jesus, the Prince of Peace. Pope Leo XIV then invited everyone to strive for peace, love, and unity in a divided world, saying, ‘Let us do more to proclaim peace, love, and unity in the world.’
In his message, the Pope also focused on turning to God and His love as the answer to restlessness, saying, ‘The authentic approach of the heart does not consist in possessing the goods of this world, but in achieving what can fill it completely; namely, the love of God, or rather, God who is love.’
Now, how much of the Pope’s exhortations are we ready to carry out? Is it by trying to outdo one another in display of affluence, while ignoring the poor among us, or is it by committing crimes in order to show off? While the choice is ours, we pray that God will touch the hearts of many and direct them to appreciate the true essence of Christmas.
