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unfulfilled dreams that are always at the centre of thought in people’s daily routines.
A year is, sometimes, regarded as a period reflective of individual achievements and days, weeks and months are devoted to planning a better life as people toil in their daily adventures.
People are faced; everyday, with realities of unpaid school fees, rentals, electricity and some times hospital bills and this sort of takes all the attention and time than does happy moments.
In Zimbabwe the cost of living is high as the country imports most of the basic needs such as food and clothes.
Living in a country whose unemployment rates continue to surge every year with the current statistics showing that since 1999 the population of unemployed active citizens has gone up from below 52 percent to above 88 percent this year, leaves most people with little things to merry about.
Only last week Finance Minister Tendai Biti announced a paltry 5,5 percent salary increment for next year for civil servants. This group makes a considerable number of the employed lot and this torched a war cry of disapproval from the civil servants whose incomes do not match with the poverty datum line.
These calamities, coupled with others such as poor service delivery systems that have seen families going for days without tap water and enduring days without electricity also place citizens in this country in positions that discourage happiness.
But even as people’s focuses seem to be much pre-occupied with serious issues throughout the year, there is a time — a snippet though — when people are universally thrown into partying moods in a way that makes the festive season the most significant happy moment in many people’s lives.
It is that time of the year when Christmas carols are burst forth in high octaves as all people plunge into a jubilant madness that grips the whole country and, principally marking the end of a set of individual routines. It heralds a new beginning in life.
Pages of christian hymnals are set to be flipped as people sing joyous songs of praise to the Messiah in fashions that thrust human thoughts to celestial imaginations.
Here is a time consecrated to celebrate the advent of the Messiah Jesus Christ while in general it is a time when most people celebrate the end of another year when family members will be on holiday.
In most churches recitations of programmes of the big day are underway and this alone indicates how people revere this time of the year.
It is a time when people get to reflect on personal achievements while new resolutions are penned in efforts to bridle as much focus for a better future. What a remarkable season in life!
Families go into avarice spending moods as splendour spreads across every part of the society, to more pronounce that this is a time to celebrate.
“This is the only time that I get to spoil my family with expensive food. My seven-year-old twin sons long for this time because they know that I will be generous enough to buy them Christmas clothes of their choice,” said one Takura Rinda who works as a labourer to a local manufacturing company.
“I don’t earn much but it feels good to join the rest of the world and celebrate with your family that God has been with you all year throughout,” Rinda said.
Mothers in sprawling villages around the country where birds join saints in singing plaudits of the Messiah’s advent will be busy slitting throats of goats and chickens in ways that, demonstrably, appear sacrificial of days of struggles and hardships — it’s just a time to merry and forget about everything else.
In rural communities this is the time that most families slaughter their livestock for meat and killing animals for meat in most societies in the country is usually done on important occasions.
During this time most people would have travelled to their rural homes to integrate with their family members from many parts of the world and people will be happy as they share life testimonies together.
Even in towns and cities neon lights won’t go dim and bars witness throngs of revellers more than ever and businesses equally boom during this season as family pockets will be swelling with bonuses. During Christmas and New Year holidays people go to bed late mostly as they will be either in drinking binges or just enjoying with their families.
Mr Don Machaka who runs a nightclub in Budiriro says: “This is the time to make money as most people will be happy to spend.”
“It is a time when you don’t sleep because you realise that people are buying without much encouragement. . . Normally we would have called in an artist or a band to get such a crowd as we get on these holidays.
“So the point is if you sleep during the festive season you will miss out on money the rest of the season”, he said.
Mrs Kim Furthers a family woman who was already doing Christmas shopping at Spar Athenities said she was planning a holiday for her family during this time and she said “because its a time to celebrate and relax while with ample time to do holidaying”
“I wont visit any place outside this country because I have not managed to be in every holiday quality place and am looking forward to discover a new happiness during this holiday”, she said. “I like going on holiday with my family during this time because I plan it since the beginning of the year and each day brings it closer to reality”, she added.
This writer noticed that slowly the partying mood is creeping just as the clock is ticking towards the Christmas day and the New Year’s Day.
“To all our valued customers we wish you a merry Christmas and a prosperous new year” is the sound that proceeded an internal advertorial that this writer heard as he was shopping in one of the hyper shops of the country, surely the time to celebrate is nigh.
While the festive season is a celebratory epoch in which inanities are exalted over purpose, its tail-end is highlighted with New Year’s resolutions, resolutions that dovetails failures from the previous year to future plans and expectations.
Go ahead and enjoy it!
Online Reporter