Editorial Comment: Eat and drink like there is tomorrow

25 Dec, 2016 - 00:12 0 Views
Editorial Comment: Eat and drink like there is tomorrow Sunday Mail

The Sunday Mail

The last Christmas that fell on a Sunday was in the year 2011, the next one will be in 2022; therefore we revel in this almost rare opportunity of publishing on the special day.

But hey, every Christmas is rare, isn’t it?

Here at The Sunday Mail, we take pride in having the honour of delivering news to your doorstep on this day when everyone is in a merry mood.

Christmas Day is widely celebrated in this country, especially considering that the majority of Zimbabweans are Christians.

Even for non-believers, the day is difficult to ignore.

Celebrations are done one way or the other.

Indeed, Christmas should be experienced in all its fantastic, fabulous glory.

Eat, drink, dance and be merry; as long as you remember what you are celebrating — Jesus Christ’s birth.

However, celebrate with a bit of restraint.

Let’s not celebrate like there is no tomorrow, because the morrow is less than 24 hours from now.

Today is about family, the real family; not about the fly-by-night families that come and go as money emerges and disappears.

It is also about exchanging gifts and family get-togethers.

Due to this, we are swallowed into the cycle of extravagant spending. Once in, we survive on debt to cover today’s spending.

In as much as we have to spoil our loved ones today, we need to do so within our means.

There is absolutely no need to get overexcited and encroach into next week’s school fees.

The use of the phrase “next week” is deliberate so as to wipe off any misplaced notions that January is way off and there will be ample time to replace abused funds.

January is only a week away and bills will be coming to bite you as soon as the last chord dies down.

Christmas is just for a day, but January is laden with 31 days that come with its financial obligations.

Next week, the family will expect food on the table, next week the kids might fail to go to school until you get your next pay check (which is a month away from now) and they will hate you when you are thrown out of your unpaid lodgings.

Financial discipline is key, merry makers.

But that’s not all.

Elsewhere in this publication, we report about different Christmas experiences from various settings across the country — the ghetto Christmas and the rural Christmas.

Both have always taken centre stage when we talk about Christmas in Zimbabwe, celebrations in the burbs take a rather low key that is often not spoken about much.

In as much as the two scenarios are different as day and night, one common thing sticks out in both of them — the celebrations culminate in physical fights as the wise waters settle in.

For goodness sake, Christmas Day is a celebration of the birth of Christ, why should people be fighting on this special day?

The Zimbabwe Republic Police reports that criminal cases usually surge during festive periods, why should people be committing sin during a time when they should be searching their souls and committing to Christ?

Every year around this period, road traffic accident statistics hit the roof, with 130 people losing their lives during the 2015 festive season alone.

We didn’t have to lose all those people that way.

A total of 292 more were injured in 593 accidents.

It was mostly human error, according to the national police spokesperson Senior Assistant Commissioner Charity Charamba.

Therefore, it could have been avoided if only some people had exercised extreme caution on the roads.

We cannot continue losing lives this way, something has got to give.

When people read messages such as these, they have a tendency of thinking that the calamity can never fall on them.

Guess what, those who lost their precious lives in previous years never thought it would happen to them, but it did!

Just before you turn on that ignition, why not check the road worthiness of your vehicle?

Please check the state of your tyres, as this may lead to loss of lives .

The fact that your tyre threads are starting to show while you are excitedly speeding on a wet and slippery road is recipe for disaster.

Have a merry and responsible Christmas so that your 2017 will be prosperous and enjoyable.

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