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Today is Christmas Day and we reckon that people from various walks of life celebrate the day in different ways. In fact, there has been controversy surrounding how to mark this day, especially considering the cultural diversity of Zimbabweans. Some prefer to spend part of the day in church, while others travel long distances to their rural areas to meet their relatives.

Yet some prefer to take advantage of the Christmas holiday to engage in traditional family rites, as everyone would be off-work and prepared to travel to the rural areas. In whatever way people prefer to mark this important day on our calendar, we hope that they will not depart from one of the important aspects of Christmas.

We urge Zimbabweans to remember one another on this day as part of the meaning of Christmas is about love. It will be folly for us to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ on Christmas Day without demonstrating love to our neighbours.

Christmas time should be for remembering those of us in unfortunate circumstances, especially orphans, the elderly and the sick. It would be wonderful today for you to take the day out to mix with the underprivileged around you, shower them with gifts and, above all, show them love.

We note that there has been concern about an erosion of our culture of respect in the modern day Zimbabwean society. Elders complain about lack of love, respect and concern by the young generation.

Let us use Christmas Day to help us return to our original ethos. In fact, the Christian world upon which Christmas is premised always talks about the importance of love. Everyone of us needs to remember John 3 verse 16.

It says: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (King James Version).

This is an important part of the Bible with regards to the spirit of Christmas. God demonstrated his love by giving away his son, whose birth we celebrate on Christmas Day. This is a clear demonstration to us that love goes hand-in-hand with giving; it is about taking action to fulfil a desire.

It is important to realise that with abundant love for each other, we can achieve many things and overcome all obstacles that hinder our progress as a nation. Let us take advantage of the spirit of Christmas to build bridges of understanding, acceptance and forgiveness of each other.

The new era that was ushered in by the intervention of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces demands that everyone plays their part in building a new country. This is why there is need to evoke the spirit of Christmas, for it is impossible to build new bridges across the political divide and with neighbours without love.

Let us have a fresh start this Christmas in terms of how we relate to each other, how we speak to each other and how we react to views of others. This is the same gospel being preached by President Emmerson Mnangagwa when he says “let bygones be bygones”.

Let us reflect on our lives as individuals and as a nation, on our aspirations for our country, which is experiencing a new birth following the ascendancy of President Mnangagwa to power.

It is also important on Christmas Day to remember those who cannot make it because of national commitments. As you sink your teeth into that chicken on your table, take time to remember those who have answered the call of national duty to protect or save lives — the nurses, the doctors, drivers, paramedics, police officers, army officers, engineers.

These are among the thousands of Zimbabweans who are already demonstrating commitment to duty and love. They express true commitment to the spirit of Christmas. Be counted among them.

Have a merry Christmas and live to tell of its joys.