Christmas is an Opportunity

There are two Christmas Carols which reduce me to tears, although I am, at best, an agnostic - "Silent Night" & "Oh Holy Night". It is the music of both of them which I find deeply moving, but it is also the underlying message.
www.41051.com/xmaslyrics/oholynite.html

As many of us enjoy all the special food & drink, opening our presents & being with loved ones & friends over Christmas, I wish we could pause & really think. Think about how we might do the whole thing differently.

The Christmas message seems to me to be about hope, love, peace & ending opression. It isn't about what presents you got or how much you spent on food & drink. Adults don't believe in Santa & many of us also don't believe in the virgin birth & other tenets of Christianity. But we should believe in the moral compass which makes us human & should make society function more fairly for all.

Lack of religious belief shouldn't stop us from thinking of others at this time & doesn't absolve us from actually doing something about other peoples suffering. Christmas is a real opportunity to be kind & generous & thoughtful towards others who are not as blessed as we are.

Unfortunately it is only too easy for both religious & non religious people to walk on by the less fortunate both in reality & metaphorically. The song "Streets of London" has been a favourite of mine since the late 60's.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiWomXklfv8

If each one of us took every opportunity to not walk on by, we could really change things for the better for a lot of people. People in the UK & in the wider world.

If you do anything this Christmas take the opportunity to make someone who is less fortunate smile.