Christmas spirit alive and well at Dromiskin carol service

TEACHING anyone to think of others before themselves is a life long endeavour.

For children, it might mean sharing toys; happily taking turns at the playground, or considering a sibling’s feelings when they fall down.

It may also be, especially at this time of year, sharing their good fortune of living in a happy home, with plenty to eat, of giving a helping hand to those less fortunate than themselves.

It’s all part of educating children for life, and while it is not part of the curriculum in their classroom, it is as vital as learning about their history.

For that reason there are many wonderful examples in our town and throughout the country of school principals and parents bodies encouraging their pupils to contribute to the many food and toy banks that are operated by a variety of charities in our town.

These charities, with the support of a team of volunteers, then distribute the donated food and toys to families.

In the majority of schools the food is brought by the pupils and displayed in a prominent location within the school, while there are many instances where the owners of small creches get involved in the food appeal.

Other schools like to get parents and grandparents involved by organising events such as a carol service, and one of the most inspiring of these events is staged every year in Dromiskin parish.

This year, as in previous years, the pupils, well over 200, accompanied by family members, brought along their bag of food to the service, and great credit must go not just to the pupils and the parents for the volume of food donated, but to the teachers, who put a great deal of work into rehearsals for the carol singing and the readings.

The magic of the night is there for all attending the service to see, and for many in the parish in Dromiskin it not only acts as the official launch of the Christmas season, but is a uplifting example of community life at its best, for the vast majority of parishioners get involved.

The donated food is compiled into parcels for distribution in the parish by the St. Vincent de Paul Conference in the area, while the residue is made available to the Society’s appeal in Dundalk.

Naturally over the Christmas period there are many examples of the generosity of people not just in donating money and food to various charities, and it is very encouraging to see workers in many firms, some of whom are not all that long in Dundalk, and have no strong links with the town, instigate their own food and toy appeals among themselves.

One such firm is Paypal where every year the display of food items and toys donated by workers has to be seen to be appreciated.

There are others too, individuals, who start their own appeals among friends and neighbours to honour a lost loved one, or to bring hope and a little comfort to those for whom Christmas can be a miserable time.

For most adults they know the joy of giving but for children giving in a hands-on way to serve others and show special acts of kindness will go a long way in teaching them to think of others and derive joy from generosity.

At times we complain that there is much wrong with the society in which we live, and on occasions we grumble too much, but when we have events such as the carol service in Dromiskin to reflect upon we should be thankful for what we have, and realise that there is not that much wrong with our society.