By Dennis NicholsThe ‘spirit’ is everywhere, the spirits are flowing, and Christmas, despite efforts to downplay its festiveDennis Nicholsaspect, is alive and kicking; it may be kicking some people a bit too hard in the wallet, but that’s an indulgence many people don’t mind this time of the year.Some fundamentalist Christians argue that such over-the-top gratification runs counter to the true spirit of the season – the birth of Jesus over 2000 years ago, and its colossal, sobering significance for humanity, particularly Christians. My friend J.C. (not Jesus Christ) begs to differ.J.C. has been a friend from my high school days, but our paths diverged, and rarely crossed, until about 30 years after we had departed the hallowed halls of Queen’s College. However there was one thing that helped reconnect us, a year before the millennial milestone. That thing was religion, and the search for a spiritual truth we could both understand and live with.The reawakening of our friendship started alarmingly, and humorously, one day in 1999 during the Christmas season. Actually it was an ability to see the funny side of things that quickly put any fears I had, to rest. My friend was, as we say, not in his right senses on that day.I was walking on Main Street in the vicinity of Guyana Stores when I heard a stentorian shout, ‘Nicko,Atlanta Hawks Jerseys, wha’ happenin’ bai?’ There he was, in unsightly garb, with a coloured kerchief tied pirate-style on his head and brandishing a wicked-looking blade, much to the disquiet of pedestrians nearby. I returned his greeting and added my own question as to how he was doing, feeling rather idiotic, since it obvious that he was displaying some kind of manic energy.“Bai Nicko” he bellowed, “I just come from de border; I had to go an’ rescue Guyana and tek she back from Brazil, yuh know…” He added some muddled description of how he achieved the feat, the actual words of which I cannot now recall. People were staring at us, probably intrigued by the incongruity of our appearance and the mutual comradeship we appeared to be genuinely sharing.At the end of our bemused conversation, I gave him directions to where I was living. When I told another friend of my encounter that day, he asked me if I was as crazy as J.C.,Wholesale Stitched NFL Jerseys, I told him I wasn’t. He shook his head in bewilderment.J.C. turned up at my home a few days later where I introduced him to my wife and children. He told me a sad, rambling story of the path his life had taken over the last two decades. I will not go into details, except to say that he had been diagnosed as schizophrenic, was on intermittent medication, and had been all but deserted by some of those who had been closest to him. As he spoke, his innate intelligence shone through occasionally, and I was more than a bit surprised to hear him expound in a rational manner on a number of profound social and philosophical matters. One was the Christmas spirit theme and the clash between its pagan traditions and sacred significance.I told J.C. I was more inclined to downplay the pagan festivities, and that it should indeed be a time for reflection and gravity as we ponder the mystery of the Immaculate Conception, the mission of the Christ child, and their immense implication for sinful humans. He waved aside my concerns and advised me that the sheer goodwill of the collective human spirit at this time of year with its underlying message of peace and reconciliation far outweighed the more superficial aspects of decoration, merriment and gastronomic excess.He added that even some of those so-called pagan elements still practiced today had their origin in beliefs of good overcoming evil, rebirth, renewal, and hope. These include greenery, symbolizing the cycle of creation, the giving of gifts, house-to-house caroling, float parades and carnivals (think of our masquerade bands) holiday feasts, and church rituals. Even the drunkenness and revelry associated with ancient Roman feasts, celebrated the ‘Birth (or rebirth) of the Unconquerable Sun’ on December 25th, a date that later came to be associated with the awesomeness of Jesus’ birth.He implied that Jesus/God was much more interested in the way we treat each other during the season (forgiveness, generosity) than in the traditional trimmings to which we attach little real significance. In any case, Guyanese are not insensible as to the true merits of the season.Despite the frivolity and materialism which surround it, Christmas is still very much about the birth of Emmanuel (God with us) and about the reconciliation of human nature with divine character. Most of us make a special and conscious effort to be kinder and a little more Christ-like at this time of the year. What we can probably focus on is taking this kinder, gentler spirit into the new year and keeping it there from January