Ayres Sequeira
On a wintry night, two thousand years ago, the lowly shepherds keeping watch by the night over their flock in the fields heard a choir of angels sing: Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to man. Among the twinkling stars in the sky, a star shone brightly with a heavenly glow and the shepherds followed it to a stable where they found a babe with its mother, Mary and Joseph. They were delighted and rejoiced at the tidings the angel gave them: Unto you in the city of David in Bethlehem your Saviour is born. The shepherds went and told others, what they had seen and heard that they too may know and rejoice in the good tidings. This is the joy at Christmas, that part of the year when everyone longs to be at home with their loved ones, relatives and friends as well. As Christmas draws closer, the patience to wait any longer grows impatient. And yes, those who cannot make it for some reason will express their love and affection, closeness too, by sending Christmas greeting cards.
In the older days, sending Christmas cards was a custom. It involved quite a lot of time and pain going to the market or the local shop. Very attentively it was selected keeping the one in mind, reading the Christmas message and choosing related picture on the card; coming home and writing with own handwriting and addressing: To my be loved, or to my everloving; my little…and so on; it goes on, and on expressing gesture of many different kinds. It added a personal touch of love and affection to receive such a card when the postman dressed in his khaki uniform picked up from his postage bag and handed out to the person saying with a warm smile: A card for you. This was so in the past but not anymore now with the change of time and lifestyle living. In this world of present time, turmoil, chaos, violence, killing and suffering, Christmas seems to have lost its old charm of celebration; poverty, hunger deplete the joy to partake in the celebration of the festivity; instead tiredness and weariness long for peace and freedom to live the fullness of life in a tension free world. Amidst all these expectations, all one wants to know one day is to turn on the News and hear “there’s Peace on Earth.” This is the greatest Christmas gift to us all on earth if it should happen.
