Gareth O'Callaghan: Christmas, belonging and the quiet loneliness many of us carry

A reflective look at Christmas, loneliness, exile, and why belonging matters more than gifts, traditions, or perfect family rituals

Is Christmas all an effort made for the children, so they can enjoy that same magic we felt when we were their age, or maybe to give them the enchanted memories to store away that we missed out on ourselves?

“Then the grinch thought of something he hadn’t before! What if Christmas, he thought, doesn’t come from a store. What if Christmas…perhaps…means a little bit more!” Unlike the gifts we’ll buy in these next few days, you can’t put a value on these words by Dr Seuss.

What is Christmas? I ask myself that question around this time every year, and I can never find an answer that satisfies that side of me that I always associate with winter. I love Christmas, but what is it precisely that I love?