Have you ever stopped to think how sanitised and false Christmas can be? The house and yard are made to look neat and tidy, the kids have to be good or Santa won't come, the shops are beautifully decorated, soft Christmas music is piped everywhere - it is the season of peace and goodwill!
When tragedies happen at Christmas time it seems more unjust than at other times. When the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbour close to Christmas Day that was all the more tragic and affronting because it was Christmas. When Cyclone Tracy hit Darwin on Christmas Day the tragic loss of life and terrible damage seemed worse because it was Christmas. When deaths and road accidents happen at Christmas, they seem the more sad and tragic because it is Christmas.
We celebrate Christmas in the shadow of so many tragedies: The terrible Bondi shootings, floods, earthquakes, climate change, ongoing pain in Palestine, Israel, Ukraine, Sudan and in so many parts of our world. As of mid-2025, the UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, reports over 123.2 million people globally are forcibly displaced, driven by conflict, persecution, and violence,
Have you ever stopped to think how sanitised and false Christmas can be? The house and yard are made to look neat and tidy, the kids have to be good or Santa won't come, the shops are beautifully decorated, soft Christmas music is piped everywhere -- It's the season of peace and goodwill!