This Christmas morn, after having avoided the misguided revelry (or perhaps entertainment - a dinner is OK) of the night before and opted to watch a jolly good concert on television, I am reflecting on the real significance of this major event in the calendar of the Christian Church (Easter being the greatest event). I say Christian because Christmas is celebrated at one time or other by all Christians. The Orthodox (at least Russian) Church celebrates Christmas on January 7, for example.

Besides the religious significance of Christmas and the various religious functions and pageantry (such as cribs), there is an overwhelmingly personal and fraternal aspect. It is a time for profound reflection. A time for soul searching, perhaps. The foundation for all those New Year resolutions we keep on making and breaking. It is also a time for looking at those around us to see how there can be more love and understanding. How can we help others? How can they perhaps help us? In other words, "solidarity". Let us not forget the personal aspect of Christmas.

In fact, this aspect was a common theme in the end-of-year televised addresses of both the President of Malta and the Prime Minister. There were at least five themes in common, some perhaps inevitable: the generation of jobs, the international recession, progress within the EU, Pope Benedict's planned visit next April and solidarity.

It has been the government's priority to generate more jobs and save those existing. There is nothing worse for a family than to lose its source of income. This brings hardship and despondency. The international recession has not helped in this regard and, fortunately, Malta has weathered the storm more successfully than many other countries. There are signs that things will improve next year, albeit slowly. The fight must go on. The battle must be fought within the context of a European Union of which we are an integral part, with which we move and on which, in many ways, we depend. We must strive to maximise its opportunities and benefits.

The Pope's visit will surely serve as a moment of national unity and we are fortunate in having yet another visit from a Supreme Pontiff in a relatively short number of years. Let his visit strengthen this unity and our sense of solidarity. I am sure this will be a theme that will be addressed during his homilies and addresses.

We have always risen to the occasion when tested. L-Istrina will have come and gone when this piece appears. I hope that our sense of solidarity will have passed the test it has been put to, in the sense that there are no gifts in return for our donations. I have written in the past that L-Istrina (although I was once in-volved) had become something of a "farce", such that on occasions there were so many gifts that it was a mad rush to get them out and our able and commendable L-Istrina presenters were practically in a frenzy to get people to phone in. It is true, on the other hand, that these gifts were donated by various business organisations, however, the question always was: Do people donate out of a sense of solidarity, because they really want to give? George Abela, as President of the Malta Community Chest Fund, has taken the plunge and decided that there will be no gifts this year. By now we will have known whether we have passed our test or not.

We are moving into 2010. The year 2009 has been a tumultuous year in the political arena. Other than the election of Dr Abela as President, a lot seems to have been negative. Much of the focus has been on the Nationalist Party and, particularly, its parliamentary group. In many senses, the "back bench revolution" could be perceived as positive and healthy in a democratic regime but it has also brought instability. The Labour Party's refusal to reach a pairing agreement in itself goes against the spirit of cooperation required in the national interest in such a regime. This attitude has impaired the possibility of our ministers to fully participate in the proceedings of EU organs and other fora. This has, in the end, been to the detriment of all of Malta and Malta means "all", not only the government and its supporters. These are just two points we should start off by addressing and solving in the new year.

A happy, prosperous and healthy new year to all.