Editorial: ‘Park the stress and remember what the season is really about'

As I sit here writing this editorial, the list feels long. Another paper must go to print before the holidays, a few last-minute gifts have to be purchased, I need to make the list for the big food shop – and actually do the big food shop – and of course, my daughter and I still have to bake and decorate the cookies for Santa.

If you’re sitting there, feeling a bit overwhelmed, well let’s take a deep breath together and have a reality check.

Yes, the jobs have to be done but the pressure needs to go and if you want a reminder about what all this rushing and racing is for, then click here where some familiar faces talk about their favourite things to do this time of the year. And interestingly enough, not one person talks about getting presents.

Instead, the highlights of the festive season are pottering around Christmas markets and soaking up the atmosphere, sitting around the table with family, watching movies in your pyjamas and walks with family on St Stephen’s Day.

For me, I love going to Mass on Christmas morning and music is a really important part of that. The carols, the sense of celebration, I find it quite special and while everyone has their own religious outlook, there is, in my opinion, a beauty to the simplicity of the message, a child is born.

I remember two years ago, being in Mass on Christmas morning, and my son Jack was just a few weeks old. At the end, the choir sang the most gorgeous version of O Holy Night. Jack was wrapped up in a pramsuit and I held him, swaying to the music.

Afterwards, an older lady that was sitting in the same pew came over to me, and with a tear in her eye, she said, “A baby. Oh, to see a small baby on Christmas morning, how beautiful.” I don’t know who that woman was, but I’ll always remember her.

These are the moments that make Christmas special.

A star is born

This ties in with our cover story that celebrates the nativity play which will be acted out in churches and schools across the country in the coming days.

What I absolutely love about this piece is that in Forgney National School in Co Longford, there are just 18 pupils but they come from seven different countries, with Ireland, England, Hungary, Poland, Brazil, Ukraine, and India all represented.

School principal Claire Tyther says that all the children are very respectful of each other’s backgrounds and traditions – what a story of inclusivity.

This is especially true given how local and regional Christmas traditions can be. Rosalind Skillen has a heartwarming piece about the different traditions that take place across Ireland. From the wren boys in Kerry to mumming in Fermanagh and salted fish on Inis Mór, it shows that traditions are as interesting as they are local.

But of course, for this Cork girl, Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without spiced beef which for me is the perfect taste of the season.