By Yering resident John Annison
What does Christmas mean to you?
Is it a time to feast and drink
Or a time to pause, reflect and to think?
Is it a time when you’re all alone
Or a time to sit waiting for a call by the phone,
Or perhaps a time to meet with friends old and new,
And family and loved ones, many, or few?
What does Christmas mean to you?
Is it a time of extravagant spending
On presents and gifts, the list never ending,
Or a time to relax and get away,
For a bush or beachside short holiday?
Maybe a time to drowsily sit back and rest
While watching the TV’s Boxing Day Test.
What does Christmas mean to you?
A time to remember the Saviour’s birth,
Of God, made human, here on Earth.
A wonderous mystery to behold,
A wonderful story to be written and told,
Of God’s love for us, through Christ shown,
For all to see and through Christ be known.
What does Christmas mean to you
If you’re agnostic, Muslim, Jew, or Hindu?
Your path to God follows a different story
But still leads to God in all the Almighty’s glory.
If a person without any religion is you,
But lead a good life, honest and true,
Christmas may be simply a time of good will,
A chance to reflect, be gentle and still.
To recognise the good in those around you,
And love them for it, as they love you, too.
What does Christmas mean to you?