EDITORS LETTER

December is my favourite month, by far. In England (where I’m from), December is the month when you don’t mind it going dark at 4 pm because you get to enjoy the Christmas lights for a few more precious hours. The streets are filled with people in dark coats hurrying from one shop to the next, trying to find the perfect gift for their special someones. Hot chocolates come exclusively with a healthy glug of Bailey’s, and it’s completely acceptable to listen to Michael Buble Christmas from November.

Christmas in South Africa has never felt quite like the cold Christmases of my childhood. For a long time, a hot Christmas lacked that special thing that I was so used to. Sure, we have Christmas lights, decorations and carols, but the absence of warm coats, hot chocolates and open-air shopping areas always left me feeling like my December was missing something.

This all changes suddenly one December day in 2018. As my extended family lives in England, I had never experienced a large South African Christmas, with children running around, lots of wine flowing and glorious sunshine instead of grey rain (or the occasional 10-minute snowfall as you sometimes get in North England).

I found magic on that December day, and at the start of this tear, I couldn’t get for Christmas to come around so I could enjoy it all over again. Sadly, the global pandemic has put somewhat of a dampener on that, and my ‘Big South African Christmas’ of 30+ people will now have to whittle down to a much lower number.

Now more than ever, we need to try to be optimistic about the outlook for the next few months. It would be easy for me to curl into a ball and sulk about Christmas being different this year, but that would only end up ruining my day, and after such a terrible year, why entertain more sadness?

So, Premier readers, this year I am calling on you to do your very best to be optimistic over this festive season. The world has been through an awful lot this year, and we need a season of togetherness to kick start the healing process.

Be safe everyone, and have a very happy December with your loved ones!