Time to make our Christmas tree lighting event meaningful

Christmas tree lighting ceremonies are nothing new to Old Harbour. In fact the tradition is decades old in Jamaica all across our towns and cities. In other countries it’s a tradition of significant proportion dating back centuries.

The fundamental reason for celebrating Christmas has dramatically evolved at the turn of the 21st Century. Whether we want to accept it or not, Christmas is no longer seen by many, in a general sense, as a day of remembrance of the birth of Jesus Christ – the Christian Messiah. Therefore the new challenge must be how to make events such as Christmas tree lighting ceremonies meaningful.

Back home, however, right here in Old Harbour I have noticed a trend which may very well see our Christmas tree lighting ceremony becoming a non-event with little interest from the public.

I believe the time has come for all the major stakeholders to become more involved in the planning of the Old Harbour Christmas tree lighting ceremony, instead of – at least what seems to be the case last month - leaving things up to the Councillor of the Old Harbour Central Division.

At this point in time it’s Councillor Steve Graham, who is in his first term in representational politics at any level. Councillor Graham is a very nice Christian man who is admired for his humbleness and nobility. But he alone cannot make the necessary changes to transform this annual event into a spectacle of great meaning to the common man in Old Harbour.

What I witnessed on December 16 demonstrated a lack of support and planning as the event dragged on without significant meaning, rhyme or reason. Firstly the event got off to a very late start with no communication coming from neither the organizers nor did I see a strategy to keep the crowd tuned in.

Councillor Graham will also learn from this experience the harsh realities of our politics. Fresh from a sweeping JLP victory of all St Catherine South West divisions in the November 2016 Local Government Elections, there was an outpouring of financial support for the Christmas tree lighting ceremony the following month.

Such vast support has been dwindling ever since that euphoric period which also saw the JLP retaking state power in February of the same year.

Councillor Graham and Member of Parliament Everald Warmington must now start looking at assembling a core group of experienced and respected individuals capable of improving and transforming this product which potentially can become a beacon of hope, pride and joy for the people from these parts of the south.

A special planning committee including representatives from the Old Harbour Chamber of Commerce, the Old Harbour Development Area Committee (OHDAC), the Lions Club of Old Harbour, the local political directorate (from both sides), the police and the church will be a great way to start.

This committee can commence planning for the December event six months in advance, while a post-event review should be convened no later than 30 days thereafter.

A reformed and modernized Christmas tree lighting ceremony must have our Member of Parliament present. The MP must be the one to deliver the Christmas Message which should include but not limited to the successes achieved as a community. We want to hear a plan of action for the New Year that will serve to galvanise and inspire the people of Old Harbour irrespective of political allegiance.

Just imagine our MP highlighting the achievements of our top students in GSAT, CXC and CAPE in 2016. Last summer Old Harbour was well represented in the Miss Jamaica World beauty pageant with Kayla Smith, a product of Nightingale Grove, placing third and will represent the country at the Miss Intercontinental, a massive global beauty contest ranked just below Miss World and Miss Universe pageants.

Imagine hearing our MP in his Christmas message echoing the positive impact of the new JPS power plant being built in Old Harbour Bay and the vast economic impact it’s having on the local and national economy.
I would love to hear how many persons from Old Harbour have been enlisted on the overseas farm work programme and how such efforts are improving the quality of life in the homes.

It was a phenomenal year for the Old Harbour High School Choir, as they successfully defended their TVJ’s All Together Sing title – a feat that only few in the entire country as ever achieved. Yet this splendiferous group of songbirds was conspicuously absent. It’s an opportunity missed but I’m sure you get my point.

The ceremony could be used to recognize one or two individuals or groups for exemplary work done in the community in the year.

Mr Warmington must be doing something good for the people of south west St Catherine to keep re-electing him to serve them for a fourth consecutive term.

But the entire Old Harbour must be told of these success stories and the annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony would be an ideal platform. It’s a platform that our MP must utilize to engage and inform his constituents.

Adapting such approach, I’m sure, would entice the average person to feel the need to attend our Christmas tree lighting ceremony, because apart from seeing the tree lit up, they will get to hear plans for the community and how we will all benefit in the short, medium and long term.