Once again I don the sacred Bah Humbug hat and become the Anti Santa
Recap, I am the opposite to Santa, but I am not the enemy of Santa, just to get that straight
He is Matter, I am therefore Anti-Matter. The Yin to his Yang, the opposite side of the coin
You get the picture
Where as Santa gets to remind people of the joyous happy times at Christmas, as the Anti-Santa I represent the not so nice parts of the Christmas Story. As Santa's day is 25 December, mine is 28 December, the day that the established churches commemorate the children slain by Herod as he sought to kill the Christ Child.
My task is to remind people of those for whom Christmas is an ordeal to be endured, not enjoyed. The bereaved, of whose ranks I joined in 2014, the old and the lonely, (like the man on the Moon in the John Lewis 2015 advert ), Those who are stuck in hospital, those whose loved ones are away serving their country, not sure if they will return alive, Those on the breadline, those families living in hostels, and so on.
The kind of people some would banish from their gatherings at the festive period as they guzzle down their umpteenth glass of Prosecco, for fear that they might dampen the party mood. Such people need to be reminded of the phrase, "their but for the Grace of God go I"
Some of these people on hard times, or hurting at this time of year, never thought it would happen to them.
I note that in 2014 they remixed the Band Aid Song do they know its Christmas, to focus on Ebola. It was a worthy effort, especially as many artists gave their time to produce that record, and good on them. I however prefer the 1984 original
That song was made for the Anti Santa, especially the line "Well tonight thank God it's them, instead of you"
Those swilling their Prosecco, please take note
Please remember those less fortunate during these festivities. Please be sensitive to those who do not feel like celebrating because of hardships in their lives, if need be give them space, but don't treat them as outcasts, show some humanity please..
There is still so much to do, and I as the Anti-Santa am more needed than ever to remind people that Christmas has a dark side, and we need to remember and help those who find this a time of year a time of pain rather than a time of joy.
