Time to celebrate and enjoy

THE Arya Pratinidhi Sabha of Fiji sends its seasons greetings to all Fijians.

It is time to celebrate and rejoice in an event that has captured the imagination and respect of everyone, globally.

This December as every other in the past the diverse Fijian community has celebrated the birth of Jesus Christ with a lot of pomp and fanfare accompanied by prayers and carols of praise.

Every religious festival has a message for the whole of humanity. They all promote the values of love, peace, harmony, respect and tolerance.

These were the fundamental values at the onset of every known festival to humanity at large.

Annually we as a community of people come together to celebrate each of these festivals to renew our beliefs in the occasion, its purpose and the goodwill that it promotes.

This December, as we celebrate Christmas we must continue to cherish and apply the values of love, peace, harmony, respect and tolerance and collectively build the strength of our nation and all the people with a combined show of resilience, and oneness of purpose. The current global episode of the COVID-19 pandemic has shown that together we can demonstrate the will to battle the odds and bring normalcy in the lives of the people.

This Christmas we have an added responsibility of celebrating the lives of those who succumbed to the virus, consoling those who have lost their loved ones and unreservedly appreciating those who formed a formidable barrier of action, expertise and commitment to the call of the nation to ensure the deadly virus from spreading uncontrolled through Fiji.

We also need to appreciate the international community that came to our assistance and rendered invaluable assistance in kind and in cash to fight the pandemic.

The Sabha expresses its thanks and gratitude to everyone of different faiths for enriching the social fabric of the Fijian society and making diversity its strength.

Like every year, the resolve of the Sabha this year is to do good for the people of Fiji.

Wishing everyone Merry Christmas and a prosperous 2022.

Picture: RAMA Jasvir Singh with her colleagues of Swami Vivekananda Cultural Centre of Indian High Commission performs Punjabi dance during the Christmas party bash at Golden Age Home in Samabula.

Picture: RAMA Outgoing attaches of Samabula Golden Age home with the Minister for Woman, Children and Poverty Alleviation Rosy Akbar during the Christmas party bash.

Picture: RAMA Staff members of the Golden Age Home in Samabula, Atasa Osborne takes a selfie with one of the residents during the Christmas party bash.