Another year gone by…

The year is ending and, for my friends and compatriots in the world of corporate employment, it means several things: Annual leave, December bonus from generous employers, annual staff appraisal in which one could still walk away with a small salary boost; this time of year also means the annual staff party is around the corner. December in the corporate world also comes with the surreptitious arrival of plastic “Christmas Trees” that will simply mushroom in the middle of the office one December morning. Usually, it is banks, supermarkets and soft drink manufacturers that set the pace when it comes to this habit of whipping out and dusting off the old plastic Christmas tree that has been in use for the last handful of Christmases. One wonders what happened to the old habit of people actually going out to the fields and chopping down live Christmas trees, or even spending money on one, as opposed to this new plastic culture. Growing up –a time when Christmas was the biggest annual jamboree in my life, part of the magic of the festivities had a lot to do with the Christmas tree itself. It often started with a family debate about where a nice bulbous and sparkling green tree would be found: Would it have to be bought, or was there a neighbor or relative known to have some of the trees in their backyard? Then the ensuing tug of war on who would be in charge of the decorations –embellishing the tree with articles like candy, ribbons, balloons, cards, lights …you name it. Fast-forward to now, a time when my association with Christmas is at its very minimal, and I’ll explain why:Christmas is best enjoyed in childhood, when one is at the receiving end of the good stuff of life, as opposed to when you are a stressed and broke adult on the giving end. Simple. This is why I don’t understand it when large corporate organizations opt for this plastic Christmas tree culture in their office spaces. I have done a simple sample survey among my corporate friends and most of them are vehemently opposed to it. Their point of view is as a result of two grievances they hold as regards the Christmas trees that are now the vogue every office you turn to: Firstly, my friends think that their bosses can do a little better than those dust-coated, withered-looking and overly recycled plastic contraptions. My friends’ contention here is that, how come that Easter, another big Christian celebration is never marked by the purchasing of plastic olive branches? The other argument is that why not simply abolish the Christmas tree altogether, and using the same money, buy an indigenous Rwandan bull, mutilate it, then invite staff over for a native bull-roasting fete?

Lifestyle

Another year gone by…