Guyanese Christmas....
First published in the Weekender in 2005 How was your Christmas? Did you spend a lot of money? Did you have a good Christmas? How much Christ was in your Christmas? Are you like me, a non-Christian who enjoys Christmas as much as any other Guyanese? Many people have 'come home' for this thing called a Guyanese Christmas, probably the closest thing we have to a national festival which encompasses a diverse set of traditions and practices which encompass lack of interest, religious devotion and decadent consumption and celebration which are as far removed from Christ as I am. Some people have talked about the distancing of Christ from Christmas. There are many who believe in Christ and who do not celebrate Christmas as the time of His birth. Only one of the about twenty cards which encouraged me to have a Merry Christmas actually referred to Christ as the reason I should. It is said that the celebration of Christmas as we know it has 'pagan' origins. There is probably...