Christmas in a parallel universe
And so, this is Christmas, the most wonderful time of the year.
T ogether with millions of people the world over, we prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, the King of kings who, as the biblical account of the nativity goes, was born in a stable and slept in a manger because there was no room at the inn. There is a lesson in that, and it is about humility. But more about that later.
No sooner had the month of December kicked in than out came the boxes holding all the festive season’s decorations that had been carefully packed away the previous year. We light the candle of hope on the Advent wreath and watch our children open the first window on the calendar.
We proudly display the crib surrounded with nativity figures and the traditional Maltese ġulbiena in a prominent place at home. We then put up the Christmas tree and decorate it with all sorts of ornaments and bows, while the twinkling lights add that magical touch as they shimmer and shift. And last, but not least, we hang our stockings with childish expectation that Santa Claus is coming to town.
After a month or so of buying gifts and food, we look forward to a Christmas Day filled with treats and treasures for all. But spiritual values have been sidelined. In truth, we are held in the grip of consumerism and materialism and it has become an uphill struggle to hold on to the traditional values of Christmas like celebrating the birth of Mary’s Boychild.
On the other hand, judging by the size of our Christmas dining tables, we still hold the value of family relationships close to our hearts. Indeed, Christmas day offers a jolly background for family gatherings where mutual affection and festive cheer will someday turn into fond memories and more precious than all the gifts under the tree.
And so, this is Christmas. But is it really the most wonderful time of the year? We are braced for more tidings that bring no comfort and much less joy. Six years ago, the new Prime Minister assembled a select stable of collaborators to assist him in running the country.
Almost instantly the lot of them were whisked into a parallel world that passed under everyone’s radar and little did we imagine that the same stable would have to be mucked out long before the Prime Minister’s time was up.
For barely a couple of weeks before the month of December kicked in, out came the damning news surrounding his chief collaborator, associating him with crimes of corruption and the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia for whom the red candles flicker in hope for justice every day until they get swept away in the dead of night. The arraignment of an alleged mastermind and his subsequent testimony under oath, open a window into a world of villainy and deceit, leaving us reeling from the shock.
We peacefully display our anger and frustration by marching together in thousands through the streets of Valletta, carrying banners and chanting slogans against the criminal outfit that has hijacked the highest office in the land. We would even be forgiven for thinking that they’ve hung glowing (Electro) gaslights on their tree and decorated it with colourful €5,000 banknotes, adding that devious touch as they shaft the entire nation.
After a month or so since we’ve been hit with a tsunami of revelations of wrongdoing in high places, our wounded nation limps into Christmas in stunned disbelief, betrayed by the stable of collaborators whose arrogance and entitlement attitude have long spiralled out of control.
Now, consider the lowly stable in Bethlehem, wherein the Son of God was born. It is the greatest lesson in humility. It also sent a message to the world warning us of the spiritual void left by a culture that nurtures us on materialism and promotes greed as a virtue.
And as we sit down at our dining tables together with our loved ones on Christmas day, may we all remember another family who will be missing one of their own gone too soon. Daphne Caruana Galizia was the victim of a whitewash and a cover-up in order to protect the careers of certain powerful individuals whose wrath she had incurred. They blew her to smithereens. It was their only way of stopping the stroke of her mighty pen.
Despite the shocking revelations linked to the highest office in the land, the Prime Minister announced that he will be resigning his position early next year. His prolonged exit is intolerable. It means that our country is not able to start picking up the pieces of its shattered reputation. On top of that, no formal apology to the Maltese people has been forthcoming in this respect.
Neither has the Prime Minister apologised to Daphne Caruana Galizia’s family over the alleged association of persons working in his office with her assassination. The situation is still desperate. More crooks and would-be informants are being forced out of the woodwork and we are to expect no tidings of comfort and joy. The stable badly needs a clean-out and it’s not the one in Bethlehem.