From The Editor

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CHRISTMAS 2020 will go down in history as one like no other.

Since the mid 20th century, Christmas has become a growth industry, rather than a Christian festival and every year until now has brought stories of record spending on gifts.

2020 is likely to be different. With jobs under threat and with the acceleration of the decline of local high streets, this is hardly likely to be a recordbreaking year for retailers. Mail order and online companies however may have a different experience.

Yet some things will remain the same: there will still be four Sundays in Advent and some will maintain some traditional Christmas services.

All things face being pared down. Perhaps, amid the restrictions, there is an opportunity to move to a simpler time.

With social distancing measures and restrictions on the numbers of households permitted to gather likely to yo-yo as the pandemic numbers rise and fall in different areas, large-scale Christmas celebrations look unlikely.

But with preparations to celebrate the birth of Jesus, there is a radical underlying message: the Son of God was born in humble surroundings, not surrounded by family but by animals and strangers. Yet it was a time of joy, celebration and, most importantly, peace. There were no lavish gifts (until the Shepherds and the Wise Men arrived) but the new baby was safe, warm and loved.

In these restricted times, as we begin a time of very different preparation, is it not time to return to that radical message of the first Christmas? A day of simplicity and peace, delighting in the company of only a few?

In making this suggestion, my hope is that there may also be a Christmas meal suggestion from Jack Monroe, dubbed ‘The Tin Can Cook’, a blogger and celebrated cook and anti-austerity campaigner. Forced to rely on food parcels from a food bank for a period of time, she has demonstrated how tasty nutritious meals can be created from basic canned food (with the flexibility offered to use better quality ingredients instead).

In these restricted times, as we begin a time of very different preparation, is it not time to return to that radical message of the first Christmas?

For Christmas, I would love to see her take on a ‘tin can’ Christmas, perhaps then offering the opportunity for those who can afford to do so to donate savings to charity and for understanding to increase towards those facing a bleaker Christmas. This would offer a timely reminder of the humble simplicity surrounding the birth of the Son of God and his simple message of love and peace for our world. ¤ 

Lynne McNeil 

Editor

The Life and Work team would like to take this opportunity to wish all readers a blessed Christmas and a peaceful new year.