KEY POINTS:
Christmas is a-comin' and the geese are getting fat. Please put a penny in the poor man's hat.
If you haven't got a penny, then a half-penny will do. If you haven't got a half-penny, may God bless you.
So goes one of my favourite childhood Christmas songs, which I know from the version sung by Lorne Greene on the album Bonanza: Christmas on the Ponderosa.
I was a big fan of the TV series Bonanza as a child, and in the weeks leading up to Christmas I would listen to this record for hours as I watched my mother put trays of Christmas-themed butter cookies in the oven.
My mother would ask me to close my eyes and imagine what Christmas would be like for the poor - those who did not even have a penny - and the people who had everything but did not care to share a halfpenny. So although Christmas is a-comin' had a happy tune, the song often left me feeling rather sad.
Last week I wrote about how I enjoyed the commercialism of Christmas and liked the way it was celebrated here. But it would be sad if these celebrations were held at the expense of the spirit of caring and sharing for our fellow men.
Responding to that column, an email from one reader pointed out that Christmas is not all joy and happiness for many Kiwis.
She wrote: "Kiwi Christmas is anything but a joyous and happy one. I am a single mother struggling to even provide a present for my child and will be happy if there was a decent loaf of bread for Christmas dinner. Turkey, ham and fruitcake a Kiwi fairytale Christmas for Asians? It is for us too."
In the midst of Christmas parties and heavy-duty shopping it is easy for us to not have the time to remember those less fortunate. But while Christmas is for most of us a time for joy and excitement, for a growing number this is a time of stress when their hardship is most felt.
Last week Auckland City Missioner Diane Robertson shared with me the story of a father who had approached the mission in desperation to get Christmas presents for his children.
His wife was dying of cancer and he could no longer work because he had to care for her and their three children. With no money, he lost all his assets and struggled to put food on the table.
"With all his troubles, the poor man was dead exhausted when he came to see us," Robertson said. "But he just really did not want his children to not have a Christmas."
Robertson said this story was not uncommon, and Christmas was always the busiest time for her and the mission, with the poor and homeless seeking assistance with food, clothing and furniture.
The Ministry of Social Development's New Zealand Living Standards research says a quarter of a million New Zealanders live in severe hardship.
The number of people in hardship is steadily growing, and the City Mission and other organisations are trying hard to spread the word that there are thousands of New Zealanders who need help, especially at this time of year.
That message gets easily drowned by the onslaught of advertisements which say the message of the season is simply to spend and have a good time.
Kiwis enjoy shopping, and a survey by investment firm AXA found that working New Zealanders will be spending an average of $839 buying presents. Popular gift choices are books, CDs, DVDs, theatre and concert tickets. But how much will be a total waste of money?
A survey of 2000 people by the BBC last year found that more than 80 per cent of Britons received at least one gift they did not want, and a third predicted they'd get two or three unwanted gifts.
I don't think it is any different here. Wrong colour, wrong size or just something we don't like or want. There's a purple shirt and a pink tie in my closet from last Christmas that will probably never get to see the light of day.
Convert all that waste into dollars and think of what that money could do for those who really need it.
It won't be long before people start to embark on thoughtless last-minute panic shopping, but with seven sleeps to Christmas there is still enough time to give some thought to buying presents that can make a difference to the lives of families somewhere.
Concert tickets are a popular Christmas gift choice, so why not go online and buy special A-class tickets to Cirque du Soleil's latest show, Varekai? Proceeds will go to Oxfam to fund its work with youth at risk in Vanuatu.
For those who believe that charity begins at home, look no further than the Auckland City Mission, which is on a $750,000 drive to make Christmas happen for every Auckland child.
If money is tight, then in the spirit of Christmas we could offer a little bit of ourselves.
This year, the World Television Cultural and Charitable Trust is sponsoring Auckland City Mission's Christmas dinner for the poor and homeless and 70 volunteers from Auckland's Asian community will be spending Christmas Day decorating, cooking and cleaning, and entertaining the less fortunate.
The City Mission-WTV partnership this year has shown that Christmas in New Zealand has well and truly gone beyond being just a religious holiday to becoming a celebration that cuts across cultures.
Regardless of race, language or creed, I am sure we can do something to make this Christmas a meaningful and memorable one for ourselves and a happy one for those around us.
Have a safe and blessed Christmas.
