Samir Nazareth

Opinion | This Christmas, let’s practise the lessons of the coronavirus pandemic and strengthen the global community

The sheer breadth of the impact of Covid-19 has created a shared experience and global bonds which should live on even after everyone has been immunised

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A child touches volunteer Fatima Sanson, dressed up as Mrs Claus, in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais state, Brazil, on December 7. Sanson delivers gifts and hugs to needy children every Christmas, but due to the coronavirus pandemic, this year she built an embrace curtain to allow children to touch her, keeping everyone safe. Photo: AFP

Samir Nazareth

Published: 6:15am, 25 Dec 2020Updated: 6:18am, 25 Dec 2020

While it is no secret that Christmas has been commercialised, it has also been secularised. Behind the food, festivities and fun is the fact that the festival brings together people who may not be of the Christian faith to celebrate and share.

This is the first Christmas in a long time when the environment around celebrations will be akin to the trials and tribulations Mary and Joseph faced as they prepared for the birth of their child. They were poor, alone and afraid, but there was also hope.

Millions across the world have been forced to tone down their Christmas celebrations for economic reasons, and celebrate the festival away from their loved ones to prevent the spread of the virus. But there is hope, not only because of the promise held out by vaccines but also because we have witnessed how communities and people have come together to help one another.

I am in no way romanticising the current socioeconomic crisis, nor am I giving it a religious hue. This Christmas is an opportunity to strengthen and foster what we have in common, which the pandemic has revitalised.

02:22

Covid-19 woes dominate messages from children writing to Santa say ‘elves’ at French post office

We have all been affected by the pandemic. Having spread across 215 countries and territories, infecting over 78 million and claiming more than 1.7 million lives, Covid-19 has pushed the global economy into recession.