Merry Christmas!

Christmas is a time for family, for light and warmth in the dark and cold, chestnuts and woolly sweaters, eating together and giving and receiving. Christina and I are in Texas, just the two of us, it's seventy degrees outside, so it's a bit weird. Still, this doesn't mean that I am any less sincere in my wishes of Christmas merriment to you and yours, I hope you have a great time.

"What is Christmas?" is a question asked at this time of year. All around me as I drive are bumper stickers pleading to "Keep the Christ in Christmas." People discuss the "War on Christmas" and every year people bemoan the commercialism at this time of year. Well, I don't care what Christmas is supposed to be. I don't care whether it is really the leftovers of a pagan festival at the winter solstice. I don't care if it's supposed to be about a religious figure in which I don't believe in. I don't care if it's commercial or if it's spiritual.

Christmas is a cultural invention. Human beings made it up and human beings change it. Christmas isn't the same now as it was before, and in the future it will be different. Each year we invent Christmas anew. I think it is a wonderful and magical thing that human beings create special times for all of us to share. So, as far as I am concerned, as long as you are enjoying Christmas, being good and kind to those around you, then your Christmas is the absolutely perfect way to have Christmas. Well done you.

In my cultural tradition of irreligious English Christmas there are really only four things that make it Christmas. It isn't Christmas for me without being around at least some family, and my wife is enough of my family to count. I have spent Christmases entirely alone before, and there is nothing more lonely for me. I won't be lonely this Christmas.
The second thing is that it isn't Christmas unless you wish someone a happy or merry Christmas. To me, communicating a sincere desire for the happiness of others is really the essence of what the holiday means.
The third thing is food. It isn't really Christmas unless you have a big meal with lots of cheer. I don't think it matters what the meal is, or even when you eat it (apparently there are millions of people who do all sorts of stuff on Christmas Eve!) but Christmas without stuffing your face is like going to a concert with earplugs in. Christmas Day is the day when Christina cooks, accompanied by delightfully colorful language.
The fourth and last thing is the giving and receiving of presents, and herein lies the difficulty. All of you are rich, rich, rich. Filthy, stinking rich. So am I. You all live thousands of miles away from me and I see any one of you less than a week a year. I don't know what you want or need, it would cost tons of money to get things to you, and if you want stuff you can get it anyway. Lastly, I really do think that it is the thought that counts.

I have already received a present from my mother, and it is the best present I could imagine. My mother bought for me food for an entire family for the year in sub-Saharan Africa. This means that for the next year, whenever I wonder about whether I'm doing well enough, if I'm being all I can be, I can remember that because of the thought of me a family is alive. That means that if I do nothing else this year that I still have served a great and noble purpose, all this a gift from my mother. If it really is the thought that counts then that is a marvelous thought.

So, after all that justification, I am telling you that you aren't going to be getting any packages from me this year. Christina and I, as we have done for a few years now, are going to donate money to charity rather than send presents. We really hope that you take this as a gift to you, for without the inspiration of our dear families, without their examples of goodness and kindness, we would not be doing this. Because we love you and we have faith in you, we believe that the best way we can show our appreciation to you is by trying to do some good in the world on your behalf.

So, which charity? There are lots of great causes out there. Feeding the hungry, freeing the oppressed, teaching the unschooled, preserving the environment, creating opportunities for the poor, and so on. I believe that all of the great works of our time are interlinked, that education leads to new technology which leads to giving voices to the oppressed, the feeding of the poor, which leads to the poor being able to be educated, which leads to a greater appreciation of the environment, which leads to new technology, and so on.

I think we all want people to be free, to have enough money to be out of poverty, to have a beautiful world to live in, to be educated and knowledgeable. I think there is a thing that links all of these things together and that is the education of women in developing nations. Educated women have fewer children, and so those children have a greater chance to receive education themselves. Fewer children mean fewer people, and fewer people require fewer resources, the root cause of environmental problems. Educated women can stand up for their rights, make better decisions, have the chance to work and therefore be free of the dependency on men. Educated women can make better health choices for themselves and their families, leading to longer and happier lives. I think by educating women, in the long run we do the most good that we can for the planet.

As we did last year we will be donating our gifts to Video Volunteers an organization that "trains marginalized communities to produce news, watch it, take action and devise solutions." The great thing about Video Volunteers is it started by asking the poorest of the poor what they wanted, and a voice is what they replied. This voice teaches, encourages, supports and empowers the poorest, mostly women, helping them to improve their lives through knowledge and education. It is doing the most good for the planet in a way that respects those it is trying to help. I can't think of a better gift for you all, and I hope you agree.

Merry Christmas indeed.