Scrooge can forget his Christmas stocking this year

Sir,

In reference to the paper’s editorial last Thursday (‘The purpose of Christmas lights is misunderstood’), I think the author can forget about Christmas stockings this year. With the global downturn and everything, I’m afraid Santa’s got cuts to make and the author’s chimney is first to go.

Of course, that’s a load of codswallop, since Santa’s operations do not depend on economic indicators but on that good old-fashioned Christmas notion of “giving”. And despite the neo-liberal, capitalist-driven cynicism of the article…, if he believes strong enough, he will get.

But really, I’ve never seen so much analysis given to the “role” of Christmas lights before, and was particularly surprised to find that we’ve misunderstood this role!

Well, look here Scrooge, the point of Christmas lights in non-commercial areas, on traffic islands and even, God forbid, residential areas, is not to attract money-paying customers, it’s to enhance the festive mood.

The notion that Christmas lights “serve no purpose whatsoever” and are a waste of ratepayers’ money when not placed near commercial centres is an interesting one. Perhaps the author could expound this theory to include Easter, so we don’t have to see those giant scary bunnies and bright-coloured eggs on street corners unless of course, they are somewhere near a supermarket or periptero which sells chocolate versions of the offending items.

Bah, humbug!

A very hurt seasonal Santa

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.