Liam Gilroy | Editor
We all know that Christmas means different things to different people but to me, it is and always will be a magical time.
When I was asked to sum up the Christmas experience through the eyes of a teenager, I thought, easy – time off school, endless hours lying in bed, checking my Snapchat and wandering through the shops with friends spending my Christmas savings. End of story.
But the more I thought about it, the more I realised that yes, Christmas is a wonderful time but it’s also a very meaningful time to me and has been an evolving journey through the years. I have great memories of Christmas but these memories and experiences become more complicated from year to year. Not surprisingly, my pre-teenage years were all about me, me, me, what would Santa bring? How many selection boxes would I receive? Would I be cast as yet another sheep in the school Nativity Play? And how much time I would have to spend at Church?
During my early teenage years Christmas became a different experience. Would I finally get a new PlayStation? How much money was in it for me? Was I too old for selection boxes? Did we really have to have old aunts and uncles for dinner that I hardly saw? Why did the old man next door always have to come for dinner as well? Why couldn’t I just eat dinner in my bedroom and leave more space at the table for Gran and Granda? Yes, the buzz was exciting but there was only so much I could take and I certainly didn’t know why we then had to rush out after dinner to my aunt’s house miles away for yet another party crammed full of aunts and uncles, my other grandparents, lots of old people I hardly recognised and my cousins who were probably thinking the exact same thoughts I was. Deep down I must confess I really did enjoy all the excitement even if I didn’t let on. But until recently I hadn’t fully appreciated why all this was so important. This year I have a very different understanding of what’s in store this wonderful time of year.
Now in my final year at school I have spent less time in bed and a lot of time volunteering – I’ve climbed mountains for charity, helped run a café for old people, been a mentor for more vulnerable younger children at school, become sports, science and technology editor for this very school newspaper. I have also spent more time with my frail grandparents, helped with the shoebox appeal and raised money for Mary’s Meals. All these activities have made me realise that Christmas is and should be a wonderful time for all. Yes, it’s a time to watch Home Alone and demolish huge tubs of chocolate. But it is also a time to spend with people around you and to share what you can with complete strangers, whether it’s a shoebox full of surprises, a seat at a Christmas dinner table, or serving up a cup of tea and a scone with a smile.
This year has truly helped me to realise that Christmas isn’t all about the materialistic goods as I had once believed. The close link our school has with the charity, Mary’s Meals, and the insightful videos we have watched as a result have shown the young people in my school just how grateful a child living in a third world country can be for receiving something as “simple” as a toothbrush, something which I am almost certain everyone I know takes for granted.
I know that Christmas will be wonderful this year. People to see, places to go, presents to receive, time off school (and those seemingly never-ending exams) and friends to spend time with. But thinking about Christmas has made me realise that yes, it is just one day which passes in what seems like a flash but the Spirit of Christmas is not really about one day but how many little things you can do throughout the year can make such a difference to others who may need help more than yourself. Bring it on!
