Feel the season’s charm through its good vibes
Theatre personality, Manager – English News and New Media at TNL Radio Network, Dino Corera shares with us his thoughts on this festive tide
At home we don’t celebrate Christmas, plus all the excesses have always seemed a little, well, excessive. But for me Christmas or ‘the season’ as most refer to it definitely adds a glow to everyday life in our island home and it’s like Colombo decides to lean back, put its feet up and go into holiday mood.
Everyone’s a little more relaxed than they usually are and everything is so festive, with the lights and the music and the sounds-it’s a great time to be thick in the midst of a capital city. It’s a time for family and friends as well. I mean, a lot of people get married and you have the relatives and old friends back in the country so that’s always nice.
The first seasonal memory I remember clearly was a view from hospital of all the festivities outside.
I had been admitted for surgery when I was very young and while I can’t say the ambiance at a hospital is anything like what they make it seem in movies, at least I had a view! I remember very clearly Sri Lankan storefront snow in the form of the little cotton wool balls as well as the glued glitter signage. Thankfully, the approach to décor has got much better since then!
This season is going to be incredibly hectic for us with the elections coming up, so I guess it won’t exactly be Christmas season so much as it is election season. I’ll be at work, working with a news team which will be running around like headless ‘turkeys’ bringing listeners the best angles and stories related to the presidential elections on time to keep everyone informed despite the busy schedules. I also love how it’s a good time to be on radio. Every year we do a bunch of fun jingles and seasonal specials, plus the very essence of the Christmas vibe has a lot to do with music. Frank Sinatra and Michael Bublé are my indicator picks, so as soon as you hear Bublé singles go from library shelves to frequent slots on station playlists you definitely know what’s around the corner.
I guess my hopes for the season are the same as they always have been-enjoy the holiday, and give back to those who need it.
More importantly stay safe-there’s bound to be a lot of trouble anyway this time around and you don’t want to be adding to it with the out of control parties and the crackers.
Keep things simple, you don’t need to overspend or feel you owe it to yourself to out-do that show off relative with the decorations. The charm of the season is in its good vibes; so enjoy it and try and make someone else’ holiday a bright one too.