Christians in The Gambia and throughout the world on Sunday commemorated the birth of Jesus Christ. It is always a time of gaiety and soul-searching.
On this occasion, as has always been the case, there was much to eat and drink and to share with friends and well-wishers.
As expected, Christians turned out for the obligatory church service and other social engagements of that day.
But more importantly, they reflected on the significance of the birth of Jesus Christ whose teachings shape the Christian religion.
Like all the Messengers of God, Christ preached peace, tolerance, compassion and love.
He is credited with the golden rule of “doing unto others as you would have others do unto you”, though all the other messengers had in various ways taught and practised the same principle.
The Christmas period should be a time of renewal of faith in God and in reaching out in love and goodwill to everybody, regardless of religion.
It is a time of reaffirming our hope in humanity by putting into practice any principle that will promote peace and harmony all around the world.
It is also a time of repentance and of rededication to the ideals of love and forgiveness.
The greatest gift we can give to our friends, neighbours, relatives and well-wishers on such occasion is forgiveness.
When we forgive we feel ennobled, and when we are forgiven we feel at ease. And those who are forgiven by those they had angered should do the same for others so that we can in our small ways make this earth a paradise.
If we forgive and are forgiven, then there will be no rancour, resentment and vendetta. The world would be at peace.
We hope that as the year 2011 will be ending on a peaceful and happy note, the same feeling will be carried over into 2012 and even beyond.
We are proud to note that The Gambia has always been and will always be a model of religious harmony, as both Christians and Muslims coexist amicably with each other.
We must do our utmost to guard and protect this enviable tradition.
We at The Point would like to seize this opportunity to thank every Gambians and non-Gambians alike for working for the prevailing peace we enjoy in this country.
We especially thank the security forces for their vigilance.
We are also grateful to our readers and advertisers. We hope you enjoyed this festival period with your loved ones in peace and happiness.
And to our children, we urge them to minimize the use of firecrackers during and after this period. Some of the fire-crackers sound so much like guns that they send so many people panicking.
And, finally, we wish our Christian brothers and sisters a Merry Christmas! “A good conscience is a continual Christmas.”
Benjamin Franklin
“A good conscience is a continual Christmas.”
Benjamin Franklin
