The Yuletide season is in full swing and there is a hive of activity as the people of the state particularly those belonging to the Christian community make hectic preparation for merry making and celebrate this important holiday. The fundamentals of the celebrations are based on Christian teaching and the true reason being the birth of Lord Jesus Christ. Manipur is a multi-cultural society with many religions being practiced, we can say with pride that there had never been any instance resembling religious enmity during the Christmas season as we sometime witness in multi-cultural societies. In fact for many non-Christians, the Yuletide season has been very confusing as they are overwhelmed by the spirit of Christmas and the joy of giving. Many non-Christian in Manipur celebrate the occasion anyway with the same fervor though without the traditions. The season is marked by the religiously neutral greeting as a way of being respectful towards the other religious community and the Merry Christmas wishes are accepted by Christians just as gladly as they receive whatever other good wishes they seem at this time of the year. The bonhomie and good faith prevailing now is proof that the communities in the state have the true grit, worth and commitment to keep alive the secular fabrics eternally.
The reality of the time that we now live in is that money is needed for us to enjoy the season. The wads of papers with the print of the bi-spectacled Gandhi is important for renovation of the house, pile food stuffs for the weeklong celebration and buy household items, new cloths and presents. Sometime, the acute shortage of money and the difficulties in suppressing the intense desire for its possession often brings out the evilness in many of us. Waylaying passengers buses and other vehicles were very common around this time of the year as persons of doubtable integrity seek to lay their hand on the almighty moolah, though luckily none of such incident was heard this year. Though there have been several cases of kidnapping for ransom in the lead up to Christmas, we can hope that the episodes were a totally different story altogether.
All across the state people are uniting with their families. The festive running upto the New Year holiday is a time to lay back and relax but let us ensure that our over-excitement does not take over merry making and invites tragedies like road mishaps to occur. Citizens should control themselves from excessive drinking, or driving under the influence of alcohol and flouting traffic rules. We wish a joyously wonderful festive season to each one of the denizen of Manipur.