FOR some Berea residents, Christmas is time to exchange gifts over good food, while others start the day with a church service and some just want to get through ‘silly season’ quickly.
The Berea Mail reached out to pensioners from The Association for the Aged to find out from Berea-based elders how their festive celebrations have changed over the years.
Savithree Naidoo, who lives in South Beach, said she has seen a growing emphasis on materialism over the years.
Also read: No Covid-19 relief for Durban pensioner
“Previously, Christmas was fun and simple. We used homemade decorations and we made our own gifts. Spending time together, doing these things was more important than material things. Today, the emphasis is on the price of the gift and not the person. Very little quality time is spent with people that are closest to you,” said Naidoo.
The elder recalled her favorite Christmas traditions: sharing Christmas lunch with her family, exchanging gifts, and enjoying family picnics.
“I have stopped hosting Christmas lunches. I join my children and they host the Christmas lunch,” she said.
Also read: Umbilo residents enjoy festive feast
While Naidoo receives gifts, she can’t afford to buy presents. This is one of the challenges she faces as a pensioner.
“The pension payout is not enough to spoil ourselves, let alone other people. We are at the mercy of our families when we feel like eating or drinking something special. We don’t have enough money to buy new clothes. It impacts us very much but, due to Covid-19, we are forced to stay indoors. We can’t interact with others and this means that we don’t spend money that we don’t have,” said Naidoo.
Items on her Christmas wish list this year include groceries, new clothes, hair dye, massage oil, and Himalayan salts.
Caxton Local Media Covid-19 reporting Dear reader, As your local news provider, we have the duty of keeping you factually informed on Covid-19 developments. As you may have noticed, mis- and disinformation (also known as “fake news”) is circulating online. Caxton Local Media is determined to filter through the masses of information doing the rounds and to separate truth from untruth in order to keep you adequately informed. Local newsrooms follow a strict pre-publication fact-checking protocol. A national task team has been established to assist in bringing you credible news reports on Covid-19. Readers with any comments or queries may contact National Group Editor Irma Green (irma@caxton.co.za) or Legal Adviser Helene Eloff (helene@caxton.co.za). At the time of going to press, the contents of this feature mirrored South Africa’s lockdown regulations. 
