exhale.

Remember

December 25th.

What is it to you?

To some people, it's just a day. Nothing out of the ordinary, just another day in the year.

To most, it's a time of celebration. For extravagant parties, decking the halls in colourful decorations, and raiding department stores for gifts.

For others, it's a day to commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ.

But for a select few, it is just a painful reminder. Another day which carries memories. Both good, and bad.

My heart goes out to those who have suffered losses, lost friends, family members, loved ones, on a day most associate with joy and celebration.

"Don't pity the dead, pity the living" and to that I add, pity the ones they have left behind, who are tasked with continuing life without them.

To those who think of the cold nights spent in the trenches during wartime, not knowing when the next bomb would fall, treasuring every little moment because any one could be their last.

To those who are still suffering, and can only look on longingly while the rest of the world rejoices, while they are stuck. Stuck far away from their family. Stuck surrounded by people that don't care about them. Or even stuck in the middle of a war zone.

My heart goes out to you.

But in addition to that, I feel such an overwhelming sense of admiration for the ones who manage to smile, laugh and celebrate even in the face of adversity. The parents who give all the have to make sure their child is smiling on that special day. The orphans, the refugees, who dance and sing despite their situations.

I admire their strength.

This is not to say that you yourself should not be happy. You have every right to indulge, every right to eat, drink and be merry. Just remember. And say a silent prayer, a prayer to whoever or whatever you believe in, for those who are suffering, those who can't find it in them to celebrate, even when the rest of the world is out rejoicing.

December 25th.

A day with millions of meanings to millions of people.

What does it mean to you?

To me? It is Christmas, and time for peace, and a time to spread love and happiness.

The Song: 'Do They Know It's Christmas' was originally a song done by a variety of artists from the United Kingdom, under the name Band Aid, for charity in 1984 to raise money and awareness for the famine in Ethiopia. More recently, in 2014, the was redone by Band Aid 30, another group of artists from the UK, but this to aid victims in and preventing its spread. 

A good song for a good cause.

Happy Christmas everybody.