In her master work, The Encyclopaedia of Jamaican heritage, distinguished Jamaican author Olive Senior makes the observation that "the celebration of the Christmas season is taken very seriously by many Jamaicans and has always been the island's most important holiday."
She then proceeds to recount how the occasion was celebrated in the era before Emancipation, when even the enslaved were given a respite from the inhumane condition of their daily lives to engage in revelry.
Out of this came a ritual celebration like Jonkunnu, which survives to now, albeit being somewhat diminished in fervour.
Another celebrated event from the past was the Grand Market, a combination of shopping and an informal parade of revellers showing off their newly acquired finery and engaging in laughter and high spirits.
The highlight of the Christmas festivities was the feasting, dancing and singing, providing a welcome respite from the harsh realities of life which characterised the pre-Emancipation period of our history.
Significant event
Despite the many changes which have taken place in Jamaican life from Emancipation to the present, Christmas has continued to be a significant event.
The pure joy of times past might be diminished now, or in some instances, have disappeared altogether, but even in the midst of 'change and decay' the celebration of Christmas continues.
The occasion is not without controversy. Religious arguments still rage over the authenticity of the birth of Christ, the when and where of it. Scholars have taken to describing the times in which we live as a 'post-Christian era', arguing that Christianity no longer holds the power it once did, hence the decline and non-observance of Judaeo-Christian values.
In the United States, debate is ongoing re the constitutionality of religious expression in public places, in a crusade to keep church and state separate. This has led to the removal of prayer from public schools and the prohibition of displays such as the traditional Christmas crèche or manger scene in public spaces.
Because of religious sensitivities also, the Christmas-card industry now opts for the all-embracing 'Happy Holidays' instead of the traditional 'Merry Christmas' with its religious foundation of the Christ-mass.
Christmas survives
With all this, Christmas survives. Here at home, we are celebrating beneath the burden of a range of social ills which have plagued us all year - crime, indiscipline, corruption and, more latterly, the worsening economic conditions brought on by adverse circumstances at home and abroad. Each day brings new challenges.
The lights of our Christmas today are challenged by the cries of anguish echoing from the valleys of the Portland hills, in the wake of last Saturday morning's horrendous road accident which took 14 lives and left behind broken families and communities.
As we mourn for them, we remember at this time also the many other Jamaicans who lost their lives since last Christmas, victims of the scourge of violence.
Yet, even in the face of such grief we can still be consoled by the Christmas call for 'Peace on earth and goodwill toward men'. To believers, it is a spirit of something higher, something more than the human failings which weigh us down, which keeps the messages of Christmas alive, providing a reason for all to go on, a reason based on the birth of a child unlike any other.
In that spirit, we extend to our readers and the wider community the wish that the peace, the joy and the hope of this timeless season will be theirs and that of the entire nation.
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