Was it joy all around?

Abstract

While the majority of our clients may have looked forward to and enjoyed the Christmas and New Year Bank Holidays, it is worth reflecting the extent to which the period is one of joy and pleasure for all citizens. The Christian festival, which began centuries ago to replace a pagan one, is barely recognisable with its commercial sponsors transforming shops shortly after the commencement of the new school year. Indeed, the confusion between commercialism and an established religious tradition should cause all community nurses to ponder. Firstly, there are other religious traditions within a multiethnic society which deserve equal acknowledgement – what about these important festivals? Do we remember them in our daily work? Secondly, the enforced break from normal everyday life presents a variety of challenges to individuals. Families often feel obliged to get together, not because they want to share but because it is expected of them – perhaps exposing the reality of family discord and the wisdom of minimal contact at other times of the year. And for those who have no family, through family breakdown, geographical or biological determinants, it may be a period of loneliness emphasising their deprivation of close family ties – the elderly, the mentally ill and other vulnerable groups including the runaway young person.