It’s that time of the year where stores are filled with luminous lights, where the nation excitedly waits for the John Lewis advert and where everyone hurries around to buy their loved ones the best gift. This time is Christmas.
It is reported by Go Compare that approximately each household in the UK spends an average on £753 on Christmas festivities, whilst Which Conversation reported that the average Christmas shopper only spends 20p on charities. I asked a local nurse from Merton to give her opinion and she said “It’s quite shocking how much people spend on Christmas, and forget that Christmas should be about giving and definitely we should all donate more than 20p to help charities"
Samaritan’s Purse UK is a charity that have an annual Christmas event called Operation Christmas Child where they ask people to fill empty shoeboxes with presents to send off to a child who is less privileged in the world and is unable to receive a Christmas gift. Samaritan’s Purse UK website states that Operation Christmas Child can have a big impact on the meaning of Christmas, which should be giving.
Not only do local charities promote the idea of giving during Christmas, local schools in Merton such as the Ursuline High School, Wimbledon participate in Operation Christmas Child each year. They encourage pupils to follow the school’s main principle, “Serviam”, which means to serve and by doing so promote the idea of giving during Christmas. Last year the Ursuline collected 245 shoeboxes. I asked the School’s Chaplain, Miss Murphy, why she thought it was important to give during this Christmas time. “At Christmas we ourselves receive a lot presents and spend a lot of money on others, so it is really important to also remember those less fortunate than ourselves. Many children around the world won’t receive a Christmas present so I believe it is important that our students are aware of this and do what they can. This is why we encourage our students to make a Christmas shoe box.”
Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) “reported that last year in 2017, £9.7 billion pounds was raised in charities to help those in need and the highest peak of donating money happened in November towards the Christmas season. If the true meaning of Christmas is giving, I am glad to say it has been growing in the UK. As many continue to shop for the festivities of the season, let us keep in mind that the true meaning of Christmas can be giving. Like Anne Frank stated, “No one has ever become poor by giving”.
