Merry Christmas, best wishes to all

In a few hours, the world will usher in Christmas, the annual Christian festival celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, which Christians use to celebrate God’s love for the world.

It is worthy to note that even though Christmas is typically a Christian festival, the day is set apart, even in the hearts and minds of non-Christians, making it a day to be marked across most communities around the world.

The Daily Graphic knows that after toiling a whole year, and with Christmas being celebrated at the end of the year, as usual, people would want to eat, drink and make merry, no matter how little they have available.

It is in this vein that we caution moderation during the Yuletide, so that we do not expose ourselves to unnecessary danger during the period.

Ghana needs all of us alive and in good health to contribute our quota to national development in the coming year.

The year 2019 has been very eventful, but the coming year has many more activities, including the presidential and parliamentary elections, which demand the contribution of all citizens, no matter how little, to make the elections a success.

Therefore, beyond making merry, albeit in moderation, during the Christmas and New Year festivities, we think Ghanaians could draw a few lessons from the birth and life of Christ.

We must practically exhibit Jesus’ character to make Ghana and the world at large a better place to live. We are told Jesus, in His Ministry, understood the real needs of the people and sought to address them.

We must, as a people, cultivate the compassionate character Jesus portrayed during this time and beyond. It is the understanding that will exist between leaders and the ruled that will make us overcome any socio-economic hurdles that we will encounter in the coming year.

We have the opportunity and the wherewithal to push our country to become a developed nation if we can use the Yuletide to do critical assessment at the individual level to choose right against wrong, selflessness against selfishness, hard work against laziness, love for country and neighbour against envy, and self-control against indiscipline.

All citizens must put their shoulders to the wheel in the coming year to play our roles in national initiatives meant to ensure self-sufficiency and an improved standard of living for all.

We must all enter the new year with a resolve to build a better Ghana where institutions work and there is zero tolerance for wastage of national resources.

Above all, during the festivities, the Daily Graphic enjoins those who have to stretch a hand of help to the needy in society.

We use this occasion also to commend the New Patriotic Party for successfully organising its national delegates conference. The peaceful nature of the conference is apt for the season of Christmas and this is the atmosphere we wish all Ghanaians to help entrench in our beloved country.

We believe what went into the successful and peaceful organisation of the conference will be replicated for the country to witness peaceful conduct of its national elections next year.

We wish all Ghanaians a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year with renewed vigour to build the country in the year ahead.