Greetings from Greenleaf

So, another Christmas approaches, and for the de Bell family it will be different. The trappings of Christmas will be there - in fact, Orchard Road already has its lights up and many of the shopping malls have displays designed to entice shoppers inside. However, we will miss candle-lit carols at St. Boniface and the clear night air which is so cold that you can see your breath.

Unless you have celebrated Christmas in a warm climate, it is easy to accept how much western and northern hemisphere ideas dominate the season. The idea of reindeer pulling a presents-laden sled across a wintry sky is difficult to identify with in a place where the temperature seldom drops below 22 degrees (at night). Father Christmas would end up in hospital suffering from heat exhaustion if he tried to conduct his rounds dressed up in his traditional outfit on a Singapore evening.

Singapore at Christmas (c 1969)

Yet the commercialism is the same, perhaps more so in a shopper's paradise like Singapore. And this year there is one name that seems to be in the forefront - Harry Potter. Harry Potter mania is sweeping the world. The shops in Singapore are full of the four books, Harry Potter figures and games. There are dressing-up outfits, plastic Hogwarts castles, calendars and posters. And soon the first film will be released, which AOL / TimeWarner estimate will become as big as "Titanic".

As a parent, I have found it interesting to see how our children have reacted to the story. All of them have listened avidly and Joshua in particular became totally enthralled, picking up the book at every opportunity to see what happened next. From a reluctant reader Joshua became a convert and now you seldom see him without a book in his hand. I suspect this story has been repeated in many homes and J.K. Rowling has become the toast of many a primary school teacher.

So why has Harry Potter caught the imagination? Is it all just clever marketing or is there something else there? At times I am sure Joshua imagines himself as young Harry Potter leading the fight against evil in the form of "he who cannot be mentioned". In the same way, when younger, I was captivated by "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe". There is something in all of us which wants Good to prevail over Evil.

Unfortunately, world events don't necessarily follow this pattern. There are many examples of injustice, everywhere: the child starving of hunger in a country where money is spent needlessly on the trappings of power; the guilty person who walks free because of a corrupt judiciary or lack of political will; stories of people who are caught up in somebody else's war because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Life is unfair.

The events of September 11th will remain in people's minds for a long time. The images were too graphic to be easily forgotten, and even two months on they remain the focal point of the news. We will all live with the aftermath for many years to come. Events could unfold in a way that no-one expects; it is easy to feel far less secure and to become despondent about the future.

God's people have been here before. The prophet Habakkuk, living over 600 years before the birth of Christ, complained about the oppression that the Israelites were suffering under the hands of the Assyrians. He was told to be patient, for the time was coming when "Those who are evil will not survive, but those who are righteous will live because they are faithful to God". Habakkuk didn't see his prophecy work out, yet the seeds of discontent were being sown in an insignificant part of the Assyrian empire which in time became so strong that it could overthrow the power that was oppressing it.

No-one knows what tomorrow will bring. Yet the Christmas story is living proof that God keeps his promises. So to all our friends in Bunbury, we wish you a happy Christmas. We trust that it will be a particularly special time when you experience the wonder of God's gift to you.

Simon de Bell