Real spirit of Christmas is lost in a retail extravaganza
THE celebration of the most momentous occasion in history is almost upon us.
Christmas TV ads extol you to spend, spend, spend, but where are Mary, Joseph and the crib?
The end-of-year shopping bonanza has wiped out any pretence of religious observance.
Big-screen TVs, booze and the latest gizmos are promoted as what Christmas is all about.
But the real spirit will be in the churches and Nativity scenes celebrating the birth of Jesus and the beginning of the Christian faith.
TONY LEVY, West Midlands.
Mobile tyranny
I WAS astonished at the excessive amount of time women and girls spend on their mobile phones (Irish Daily Mail, Monday). Am I the only woman whose mobile use is practically nil?
I refuse to have my leisure time ruined by constant interruptions that are usually inane drivel.
I do own a mobile, but it is so old-fashioned that it doesn’t even have a camera. How awful that I can’t take a photo of my lunch and post it online!
My phone is normally switched off as it’s for use only in an emergency. My son knows if I make a call on my mobile, it’s for a serious matter, not an idle chat.
If people want to get in touch with me, I have a landline with an answering machine and use a computer for emails.
I feel so sorry for youngsters whose lives are dominated by a little electronic device. My advice to them is to hold your head high, instead of careering into people like me as you wander along the street gazing down at a tiny screen, and enjoy the real things in life, such as face-to-face conversations.
You’ll have a more fulfilling and stress-free life. Mrs JANET E. LITTLEWOOD,
Worcestershire.
SF’s big moment
SINN Féin now has a mandate to go and take its seats in the House of Commons, as a majority of the people in the North voted to remain in the EU.
By taking their seats, the party’s MPs would now be in a better position to do more damage to the British parliament than all of the guns and bombs the party supported over all the years.
BOB FLANAGAN, by email.
In praise of Adams
THE statement by Gerry Adams at the 2017 Sinn Féin ard fheis, that he was handing over the flame as leader of Irish republicanism was expected due to whispers emanating from within, but still shocked both delegates and members into a hushed silence.
Gerry is stepping down on his own terms, safe in the knowledge that he is doing so with his head held high, nothing to be ashamed of and a hell of a lot to proud of.
JAMES WOODS, Dún na nGall.
A duty of care
LOVE is the answer. There are many loving responses that can be offered to women faced with unexpected pregnancy. The message is: do not be afraid, you are not alone.
The State has a duty to care for all children born and unborn. Help is at hand from the medical profession and from the tens of thousands of ordinary people who are able to offer care and support.
Women need to talk about the emotional turmoil that arises when facing the unexpected.
Organisations that discriminate against the tiny humans who can’t speak up for themselves should not be invited to address the Oireachtas committee on the Eighth Amendment.
Instead, the committee should be doing far more to encourage groups that offer support and alternatives to women facing unplanned or difficult pregnancies. This is an area which is mostly overlooked in the rush to introduce abortion.
LEONIE GALLAGHER, Letterkenny, Co Donegal.