What is Christmas?
Christmas is a time of sharing with family; during this period, many of our older sisters may feel especially homesick. Therefore, in the infirmary, given the particular circumstances of each one, with their specific illnesses, it is very important to offer them time and an environment where they can enjoy unique moments of attention and care.
One of the things we have done to foster the Christmas spirit has been to decorate the common spaces, play music to brighten the atmosphere of the house and make the sisters feel happy and wrapped in the warmth of joy typical of this time. This also inspires us, through the liturgy, what the book of Proverbs tells us: “A merry heart is good medicine” (Proverbs 17:22)… There is no better remedy than to maintain joyful thoughts. When you lose heart, the whole body suffers.
Among the activities typical of this time, we have:
- Putting up the Christmas tree: This should be done a few days before the holidays. The sense of celebration and tradition help us to do this, choosing and decorating the leafiest tree, then adorning it with lights, stars and garlands. A fantastic activity to encourage initiative and enthusiasm. The gifts will come later…
- Preparing and setting up nativity scenes for the house, with crafts to decorate them. Christmas, if the Baby Jesus is at the centre, becomes a more significant holiday, with content and depth that fills us with joy, despite difficult or painful circumstances, because celebrating makes us more human, more divine, more fraternal and more humanising.
- Having concerts: Music groups and carol singers will come from outside to sing traditional songs and liven up the party, free of charge. There are several non-profit support organisations that dedicate time to accompany groups that are a bit distant and forgotten.
- Visiting families: Families come to visit the sisters, bringing lots of love, sweets or bouquets of flowers.
Christmas activities can be a way to stimulate the cognitive abilities of sick people, but also to encourage moments of well-being for elderly people living in long-term, permanent residences, whose state of health prevents them from actively participating in activities outside their routine. All this to bring the Child Jesus to life in the hearts of our older sisters and in the hearts of each one of us.
I wish you a Christmas full of joy and blessings!
Hna. Fouk Natalia desde Barañain