Date: 19/11/2020

By Alan Hardie, CEO at NCEA Trust.

Last weekend, I amazed my children by putting up our outside Christmas lights. Normally I’m seen by my family as a bit of a Grinch, refusing to put up any decorations until well into December. However, I decided that this year will be different, because along with many others, I think that we all need a bit more light in our lives at the moment.

The winter months can be difficult for many people. Going to and from work in the dark, not getting outside as much and grim weather can all get us down. 2020 has been the darkest of years, with the impact of Covid-19 now being felt far more in our area today than during the first lockdown period.

All around the world, major religions have their own festivals where light is celebrated, such as Diwali or Hanukkah. There is something about lights shining in the dark that is very uplifting. For many people, seeing all of the lights and decorations for Christmas is something that often helps improve how we feel on dark and cold winter evenings.

We are determined that all of the pupils in our Trust schools will enjoy as many of the Christmas traditions as possible, to bring some more light into their lives. They might look a bit different or happen in a slightly different way, but we are determined that they will still happen. Nativities will still take place, carols will be sung and Christmas lunches will be served. As the Church of England said this week: “the message of light shining in the darkness is needed now more than ever”. So in the run up to Christmas, we will make sure that we let our lights shine both literally and metaphorically.