Times are tough, but let’s not lose sight of the true spirit of Christmas

I DON’T know whether I want to say Bah Humbug, or a heartfelt Happy Christmas.

There are things going on all the time that seem to kill the spirit we should all be feeling, the kind of things that just make you angry.

But we shouldn’t be getting angry at Christmas. So before I talk about a few things that really matter, let me give out a few Christmas presents instead.

To the “lefty” TDs who want us all to refuse to pay the smallest property tax in Europe, I’d like to give a decent sense of priorities. Of all the things they could and should be protesting about — even to the point of being willing to be arrested — they choose to express their confused left-wing values by banging on about a tiny tax, due to be paid by people who own their own homes. There’s nothing left-wing about that, just populism. But if they won’t accept a proper sense of priorities as a gift, maybe I could express the hope that they will all earn plenty of expenses next year, so that State can deduct the fines for non-payment of the tax without them suffering too much pain.

To more or less every policymaker in the country, elected and non-elected, I would love to give a tiny dollop of imagination. And there are some of them who, just like the Tin Man in the Wizard of Oz, desperately need the gift of a heart. I know it’s a kind of a never-ending refrain I go on with, but surely it is possible, even in an age of austerity, to make sure that some things matter. When you read that someone in the HSE decided that a tiny group of women with chronic and long-term mental health problems should be transferred into a locked dormitory for Christmas — for Christmas! — not for any reason to do with their safety, but simply to save money, you really would wonder. There are people, it seems, who believe as the Wizard of Oz does, that hearts aren’t terribly practical things.

And yet, despite all that, I have a feeling this Christmas that there is something very worthwhile happening. I keep meeting people who are struggling, and more than a few who are down in the dumps. And yet they want to help. In my day job one of the things we try to do at this time of year is to provide reassurance to families who are worried about Santa Claus. Worried that he won’t be able to make it this year, or that the reindeer will run out of energy or that the sack will be empty. So we put our minds to trying to give the old guy a bit of a dig-out.

That means, among other things, collecting several thousand toys. That’s just us — other charities have thousands more to gather up, and a lot of other stuff as well, because we all want to ensure that as well as something under the Christmas tree, there’ll be enough to go round at dinner time.

And you’d be amazed at how generous people are. There’s a parcel post firm who are collecting and delivering presents free to us. There are people at work all over the country, gathering presents and organising parties for kids — and many of them are people who do lots of other stuff throughout the year. There’s a company down the country that makes clothes in pure wool, and they’ve sent us boxes of beautiful knitted scarves that they made from the off-cuts. I’d love to name them all, but I’d probably be accused of using this space to plug companies I admire.

Individuals are different though. I got a wonderful parcel in the post from a lady called Aileen (Happy Christmas, Aileen!) full of colouring books and coloured pencils. The make-up lady in TV3 made up a beautiful red box of toys and dresses. Day after day people have been dropping things in to our offices around the country. A lot of the time you get the impression that they are things people really can’t afford to give right now, but they give anyway. Tomorrow I’m going to visit a prison, because the prisoners organised a sponsored run inside the walls, and raised some money for people less fortunate than themselves. That really says something, doesn’t it?

Maybe it’s just me, but I’m not sure I remember it like this a few years ago. Christmas was about retail then. We all ran around like mad things trying to demonstrate how much we cared for our loved ones by buying them the most expensive things our credit cards would allow.

There are thousands of households all over Ireland now that used to consist of a working couple, but now has one breadwinner –— and it’s a she as often as a he — or perhaps even two people on social welfare. These are households under pressure, households that have had to adapt to radical lifestyle changes.

And the change has been far more difficult for many than anything we experienced in the past. Of course there have been tough times before, perhaps even deeper recessions than now, but the fall was never as precipitate as in the past few years. Most young people in my generation saved for years to buy their own homes, and usually had to chose between owning a hose and owning a car. The psychological damage that has been inflicted on a generation of young people with much higher expectations must be immense.

But many of them have made a remarkable transition. They are finding in many cases that as tough as things are, there’s a bit more time, a bit more decency, about these days. Great nights out have become pleasant nights in a lot of cases, and people are placing far more value of family and friends than we did when we had loads of money.

So maybe, this year, Christmas will be more about that, and less about the material things. I don’t wish our retailers ill when I say that I don’t actually think it will do us any harm at all if we spent a little less time in the shops, and a little more time with our friends and our families.

The one thing I do know for sure, though, is that the big guy in the red suit will be here on time. Thanks to the generosity of thousands of people all around Ireland, and the diligence of organisations like Vincent de Paul, Focus Point, the ISPCC and others, that old sleigh has been pretty well stocked up. But just in case, can I make one small suggestion. Just keep an eye out. It’s going to be a cold Christmas, not as bad as last year, they tell me, but cold enough. There will be times when a flask of soup will make a huge difference, or even an old blanket that won’t be used much in your house.

But above all, enjoy. Stay warm, and stay close to the people you love. It’s been a tough year. Every single one of you deserves a really Happy Christmas.