No Gift Policy

Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ observed by billions of people around the world on December 25th  as a religious and cultural celebration. In Sri Lanka, midnight mass and other religious ceremonies will  be followed with some celebration.  

‘Oh, the weather outside is frightful,” is the opening line of the popular Christmas carol, “Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow.”  Hearing Dean Martin singing this on the radio the other day made me think that for Sri Lankans the opening line should be ‘Oh, the prices of things are frightful.’  

Given the current financial constraints we are all going through, what I have found interesting about the invitations to the celebrations this year is that they come with either a request of ‘no gift, please’ or ‘donate to a worthy charity or deserving family.’  This clearly shows that we are all aware of the hardships many are going through, especially since gift exchanges are mostly giving to those who already have enough.

Colombo is buzzing with all kinds of activities, especially with the diaspora arriving in Sri Lanka.  Their much-needed foreign currency will fetch them a bag of rupees with which they could have a merry time.  

Even with all these difficulties, life must go on.  Let us hope that this festive season will bring us much joy since we have all suffered a few horrid years.