It’s Christmas time: let the orgy of gluttony and indulgence commence… and I freely admit that I partake – it is a holiday of celebration, friendship and rejuvenation. Any relevance, though, to the birth of Christ has long ago disappeared amidst the torrent of marketing and sales figures. Today’s Father Christmas/Santa Claus, while having its origins in the past, is a recent invention, grounded from an 1823 poem published in the Troy (New York) Sentinel, with images in 1863 by Thomas Nash, a cartoonist for Harper’s Weekly and then a healthy dose of branding and colouring from Coca Cola in their 1930’s advertising campaign ensured Santa his immortality.

As we overindulge through this festive period, that big ‘C’ word crops up again and again as marketing campaigns go into overdrive and the world’s Charities, big and small, strive to stuff their bank accounts with evidence of our guilt. ‘Charity’ is now big, big business, so by all means donate, but realize that’s not the end of it: take some responsibility, show an interest, make sure your donation is actually helping those you want it to help. Let’s not send monetary Christmas gifts to pay the rent of some fancy office space in Central and the bloated salaries of the people behind the desks there.

Everyone here at bc magazine wishes all our readers a Happy Christmas and a joyful and prosperous 2008.

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