~ Spreading a spirit of goodwill ~
My Fellow Sint Maarteners,
I am delighted to speak to you on this Christmas Day.
Christmas is the season of goodwill brought to us through the birth of Jesus. May your day be blessed with the season’s gifts of caring, giving, and renewed hope for a brighter tomorrow. May you safely navigate the pandemic world we live in.
Wherever you are I ask you to join me in prayer. Let us pray for and show compassion to the children who do not enjoy the care of parents or of other loved ones. Let us pray for and support our fellow brothers and sisters who cannot care for themselves and who continue to experience difficulties: health, social, financial, or otherwise. Let us pray for those of us who are missing loved ones taken from them by the coronavirus or by other ailments.
As we celebrate this Christmas, we should be grateful for and inspired by the courage of our health care professionals and other front-liners. When compared to other countries we should count ourselves fortunate with the availability and the opportunity of the vaccines. Let each of us use this opportunity to do our part to protect ourselves and each other. And above it all we should be thankful to the Lord for His blessings on our country. For guiding and seeing us through in our continuing fight against the coronavirus and its financial and economic effects.
In celebrating Christmas, we therefore have reason for hope for a brighter tomorrow. We have reason to spread goodwill and lighten and brighten the way of our nation. Let us, in the spirit of the season, therefore commit ourselves to seize the opportunities available to us to spread goodwill.
May the spirit of Christmas move us to care for and protect each other and bring joy and laughter to each home. Let this Christmas period be the time for us to renew our commitment to work together as one people to build a better life for all Sint Maarteners.
It is in that spirit of spreading goodwill that Marie-Louise and I bring you Christmas greetings from our home to yours.
May you have healthy, joyous, safe, and hope-filled Christmas holidays!
God bless you and may God bless Sint Maarten and protect its coast.
Governor Eugene B. Holiday
