Festivities in Lebanon

The month of festivities!

December is the month of festivities in Lebanon.

Each 1st of December brings with it the lights and decorations on the road and in shops, best clothes you can buy in the windows of your favorite stores; best offers you can ever imagine motivating you to buy your Christmas gifts.

 And the famous marketing campaign begins…! Santa Clause and his elves seem like the saviors of Lebanon. You feel that the shops are giving you everything for free through their Christmas adds.  All you see around you is red and green offers which you have to like or else you are considered to be the “Grinch”.

Is it wrong to have a festive month?

Not at all, it is excellent for the economy motivating everyone and spreading a positive and giving spirit in the country.

But ya libneniye you have to remember that Christmas is a sacred holiday that should not be purely assimilated to gifts, new clothes and “a7la” sapins. It goes beyond the materialism we live in.

No matter what is your religion, gifts during this holiday should not be a duty but they should come straight from the heart. So it is unacceptable to take loans to be able to buy gifts, the best clothe and even decoration. You’ll have to pay it back all year long. Wkil sine zet el ghiniye.

 The true meaning of this holiday is about giving from yourselves with happiness and not suffocating yourself. So a simple thoughtful gesture, care and quality time for your loved ones is worth a million expensive gifts.

As for those who can afford to buy expensive gifts (which we hope are all of you), remember the needy people that could really use all the support you can give them. You may think that the NGOs and individuals exaggerate with the SMS, ads and phonecalls to get some help. Well we say that they don’t overdo it. They should do it all year long because the lack of care our government is leaving needs to be filled by us as individuals. So it is forbidden to have that much less fortunates around.

Some of you might even feel that some NGOs are not really well handling the collected money… For you we say, help close people you know that are in need and that no one is aware off. Do it anonymously if possible because then you will feel the true meaning of giving from yourself, without requiring something in return.

This will bring you one step forward to understanding the true meaning of Christmas.

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