A time of joy, but we all have our Christmas niggles and nightmares

When December comes, Christmas decorations are a norm in malls worldwide. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA: Not every Christmas brings joy to everyone. Some can be a source of worry and leave bad memories.

Jayee Low, 28, owner of a gym for rock climbers, starts worrying when December approaches.

“School holidays may mean that more children come to the gym, but it is by no means guaranteed,” he told FMT.

“On the other hand, it also means that lots of people will be travelling out of town, so there are bound to be fewer customers coming to the gym.

“While schools are out, fewer events are organised as everyone is closing up for the year. That is our greatest nightmare because it means that we have to think of ideas to earn enough to pay our staff.

“That’s challenging as we are a niche business featuring a less common sport. Even if we organise a sale, it isn’t every day that a rock climber needs new climbing gear,” said Low.

Adam Tan, 40, a retail sales assistant said the moment Deepavali is over, the garment store he works for gears up for Christmas.

Jayee Low and son, Ian Phun.

“Christmas means buying presents, but over the last two to three years the number of shoppers has declined.

“When the goods and services tax (GST) kicked in, we immediately saw a drop in sales. We performed slightly better last year, but I’m worried that numbers will drop again this year with the new the tax in place,” he said.

“Our customers’ spending power has definitely dropped.”

He added that they will have to make enough to cover December’s rent and make it through to their in-house inventory check.

“It was a close shave last year,” he said.

It’s a movie cliché perhaps, but not making it home for Christmas is something Lim Lee Lee, 38, a nurse, dreads.

Working abroad, Lim told FMT, she does not get to see her family as much as she would like to.

“I look forward to going home for the big day but December is a month where everyone is travelling, and affordable flights are not easy to find. As a nurse, I don’t get to plan months ahead as we are ruled by the doctor’s roster, and unpredictable patients,” said Lim who depends on finding cheap flights to get home for the festivities.

Café owner Eugene The, 38, has a Christmas quandary in common with many other eatery owner-operators. If I open, will hungry customers come? He starts feeling paranoid as the big day draws closer.

He well remembers the year when no customers came to his cafe on Christmas Day.

“We opened at 8am, and prepared all the ingredients for our meals, but that whole morning it was so quiet that I almost closed up by noon and let the staff go home.

“That’s the risk you take when you’re in the food and beverage industry. If you shut, you miss that opportunity to make money, and if you open, you risk not covering the operating costs if nobody comes,” he said.

Last December was one of the best for Jacintha Gomez, 29, as she started a new job at a law firm. This December will be slightly different as she waits to learn if she’ll be out of a job.

“Everyone is cutting costs and our company has announced that they will be laying off people.” It’s a nail-biting time for her and others in her position.

“You know the old saying ‘last in, first out,’ well obviously that means me,” she said. “The company says it’s evaluating all our staff based on skill set demand, but I still fear that it could be me being let go.”

Internal auditor Joshua Chan, 26, worries that if not this Christmas then next may be the one that not just he but his whole department becomes redundant.

“Technology is overtaking the human workforce. It’s happening all across the business chain and it’s just a matter of time before departments won’t need humans to function,” said Chan. “It’s a nightmare that’s beginning to happen. Who knows where we’ll be by next Christmas.”

Dr Anne Tee, 30, describes how for doctors in Emergency Departments all over the country on Christmas eve the work never ends. It’s not exactly a niggle, just part of the job.

“Those on duty over Christmas will have to spend the time with their patients and fellow hospital staff. They’ll be busy working hard but their families will miss them,” said Tee. “Especially the children.”

For ultimately the true spirit of Christmas is all about bringing joy to children. Families do all they can to ensure that their kids have the best time possible.

But there are many kids without families to bring them festive cheer.

Luckily some of them are not forgotten. Marketing executive, Bella Thong, 45, has been organising fundraisers every Christmas for five years in order to raise money to buy Christmas presents for children without families to do so.

“What worries me most is that we may not collect enough donations to buy all the presents we need for the care homes that we visit during December.

“These kids are not like other children who get to spend Christmas at home with their family. They only have each other. And they can’t even afford to buy their friends presents,” said Thong.

One year, Thong recalls, they miscalculated the number of presents they had to buy and so almost had to miss out one of the children’s homes eagerly awaiting their visit. That was almost a real nightmare.

“We don’t buy them fancy presents. It’s the thought that they appreciate and the act of giving,” she added. “It shows them that somebody cares for them at this special time.” -FMT