WASHINGTON, DC – Christmas Message to the Jamaican Diaspora from His Excellency Stephen Vasciannie Ambassador of Jamaica to the United States.
Fellow Jamaicans:
This is the season of good cheer, the special time of year that puts focus on the greatest gift of all – the Gift of Love. I am especially delighted to bring you very warm Jamaican Christmas greetings.
Many of you will no doubt be celebrating the season in true Jamaican style – traditional Christmas festivities with cake and sorrel aplenty, ackee and salt fish breakfast, baked ham, roasted breadfruit, egg nog, and tea, and gungo rice and peas, topped with other Christmas elements.
But the true spirit of Christmas means more than just parties and gatherings: it is mainly about love, care, and joy, rooted in the Christian faith. And as you gather with family and friends, here in the United States or if you’ll make it back home to Jamaica, I am confident this will also be a time of reflection on the year that’s past, while you ring in a New Year.
And what a year 2012 has been! We have had difficulties and challenges, but collectively, there has been much to celebrate. Our Jamaica 50 Independence festivities and Olympic accomplishments are especially memorable times in the history of the Jamaican people, living at home and abroad. Christmas, coming at the end of the year, also affords us a moment to be grateful for the many blessings we’ve seen, and seek God’s guidance for the year ahead.
In that spirit, amidst the celebrating and the jollification, the gift-giving, and the Christmas trees, let us also set aside special time to reach out to those of our sisters and brothers who are in need.
On behalf of the Jamaican government and people at home, I thank you all in this part of the Diaspora for standing with your country and with your brothers and sisters throughout the year, as we work towards a better Jamaica..
My wife, Lisa, and I wish you all a merry Christmas, and a most prosperous and happy New Year 2013.
His Excellency Stephen Vasciannie
Ambassador of Jamaica
