Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays

This is one of my last articles of this year. We are near Christmas and half of the world has arranged for a short holiday. I can’t imagine anybody having an interest in packaging technology during these days. May I wish my readers a Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays or whatever you want to call these special days of the year.

In the past we were used to wish everybody “Peace on Earth”, and although still very relevant in these days, this wish seems to be out of fashion. However I wish everybody peaceful days and hope we once will face a world without conflict. It is too childish the way we are creating world conflicts. We are living in the 21st century, for Christ sake, we must be able to live harmoniously with each other. Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, Jews, Atheists or whatever religious or non-religious movement a person wishes to be a member of, let’s finally accept one and other the way he or she is, irrespective of his/her religion, colour , gender, sexual preference or whatever some people seem to see as a barrier for love and peace.

One more thing. Apparently there is a movement objecting to the use of the word Christmas, trying to de-Christianise this time of the year . I don’t understand that. Whatever religion you are part of, nobody can deny that Christmas belongs to our rich human heritage and culture. It is exactly the same with the Jewish holidays as Passover, Hanukkah, Yom-Kippur, Muslims’ Laylat al-Qadr and Ramadàn,  Krsnajayànti and Dassera for the Hindus and Buddhist’s  Vesakha Pùjà and I can go on and on. Nobody is trying to change that words, why deny Christians the right to celebrate their cultural heritage. Don’t come up with the argument that it is all a fairy-tale, that’s why. With good reason we can say the same for any and all religions.

The streets of Belém, Brazil, the city where I live, showed Christmas decorations made from recycled material, like PET bottles. The illumination was inaugurated on the 16th of December - Photos Reuters

For large groups of people this period of the year has religious aspects, for others it is just a fine closure of a year of hard work and hardship, with hopefully a prosperous next year. Please. Respect each other. Let the people enjoy in peace the celebrations of their religion and enjoy your own existence when you don’t fit into this particular religious celebration.

It is childish behaviour to do otherwise.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays