Photo Burak / Pexels
Photo Burak / Pexels

’Tis the season for reflection

Christmas is perhaps the most joyous occasion on the Christian calendar.

Traditions may vary as widely as the number of people who celebrate it, but time spent with loved ones and the warmth and hope that come from deeds of kindness are usually central to Christmas.

Furthermore, for many it is a much-needed break after a year that was filled with so much unpredictability, and it serves as a reminder of the ability to bring out the best in people.

Somewhere there is a child in need of clothing, a senior who needs a helping hand and a loved one who wants the simple gift of time. This is a time for reacquainting with family and friends, faith and treasured traditions.

While some might feel differently, it seems that Christmas, and the season that surrounds it, generates a degree of hope and optimism wherever the birth of Christ is celebrated.

During this time of the year, many people are more generous. Individuals who complained of being strapped for cash during the year find a couple of bucks to spend on friends, relatives and themselves.

People who were otherwise strangers during the year become more friendly, offering pleasant greetings for joy, blessings and happiness to each other. Generally, people become more charitable, reaching out to feed the hungry and offer gifts to the poor, especially children, who would otherwise receive no such thing.

Sadly, people also tend to lose their sense of reasoning during the season, not considering that this heavy spending will leave them in debt come the new year. While such spending augurs well for the economy, it depletes the personal savings of individuals and families who cannot afford this loss.

After all the glitter is cleared, and the visiting relatives return home, everyone has to find the most realistic means of coping with the challenges of their respective lives. Nonetheless, Christmas serves as an important reminder that offers hope to a burdened people.

If anything, Christmas provides the perfect moment for self-reflection, a moment to reset the clock, even if only temporarily. It is a time to appreciate the richness of life and those here and who have gone, who contributed to it.

The new year and its challenges will come soon enough.

From the NMH family to yours, have a blessed Christmas.

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Allgemeine Zeitung 2024-04-30

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Premier League: Nottingham Forest 0 vs 2 Manchester City | Bournemouth 3 vs 0 Brighton | Tottenham Hotspur 2 vs 3 Arsenal | Aston Villa 2 vs 2 Chelsea | Everton 1 vs 0 Brentford | Wolves 2 vs 1 Luton Town | Fulham 1 vs 1 Crystal Palace | Manchester United 1 vs 1 Burnley | Newcastle 5 vs 1 Sheffield United | West Ham 2 vs 2 Liverpool LaLiga: Barcelona 4 vs 2 Valencia | Real Betis 1 vs 1 Sevilla | Villarreal 3 vs 0 Rayo Vallecano | Granada 3 vs 0 Osasuna | Cadiz 1 vs 1 Mallorca | Atletico Madrid 3 vs 1 Athletic Club | Deportivo Alaves 3 vs 0 Celta Vigo | Almería 1 vs 3 Getafe | Las Palmas 0 vs 2 Girona SerieA: Genoa 3 vs 0 Cagliari | Fiorentina 5 vs 1 Sassuolo | Napoli 2 vs 2 AS Roma | Atalanta 2 vs 0 Empoli | Bologna 1 vs 1 Udinese | Inter Milan 2 vs 0 Torino | SS Lazio 1 vs 0 Hellas Verona | Juventus 0 vs 0 AC Milan | Lecce 1 vs 1 Monza European Championships Qualifying: Preston North End 0 vs 3 Leicester City | Hull City 3 vs 3 Ipswich Town | Millwall FC 1 vs 0 Plymouth Argyle | Blackburn Rovers 0 vs 0 Coventry City | Watford 1 vs 0 Sunderland | Bristol City 2 vs 0 Rotherham United | Huddersfield Town 1 vs 1 Birmingham City | Sheffield Wednesday 3 vs 0 West Bromwich Albion | Norwich City 2 vs 2 Swansea City | Cardiff City 1 vs 4 Middlesbrough | Southampton 0 vs 1 Stoke City English Championship: Preston North End 0 vs 3 Leicester City | Hull City 3 vs 3 Ipswich Town | Millwall FC 1 vs 0 Plymouth Argyle | Blackburn Rovers 0 vs 0 Coventry City | Watford 1 vs 0 Sunderland | Bristol City 2 vs 0 Rotherham United | Huddersfield Town 1 vs 1 Birmingham City | Sheffield Wednesday 3 vs 0 West Bromwich Albion | Norwich City 2 vs 2 Swansea City | Cardiff City 1 vs 4 Middlesbrough | Southampton 0 vs 1 Stoke City Katima Mulilo: 13° | 33° Rundu: 13° | 32° Eenhana: 14° | 33° Oshakati: 16° | 32° Ruacana: 15° | 33° Tsumeb: 16° | 31° Otjiwarongo: 15° | 29° Omaruru: 16° | 31° Windhoek: 15° | 28° Gobabis: 16° | 29° Henties Bay: 17° | 30° Wind speed: 21km/h, Wind direction: S, Low tide: 13:33, High tide: 07:25, Low Tide: 02:00, High tide: 20:21 Swakopmund: 16° | 22° Wind speed: 23km/h, Wind direction: SW, Low tide: 13:31, High tide: 07:23, Low Tide: 02:00, High tide: 20:19 Walvis Bay: 19° | 30° Wind speed: 28km/h, Wind direction: SW, Low tide: 13:31, High tide: 07:22, Low Tide: 02:00, High tide: 20:18 Rehoboth: 16° | 29° Mariental: 20° | 32° Keetmanshoop: 21° | 32° Aranos: 18° | 31° Lüderitz: 18° | 33° Ariamsvlei: 18° | 32° Oranjemund: 15° | 32° Luanda: 26° | 29° Gaborone: 18° | 31° Lubumbashi: 12° | 26° Mbabane: 16° | 30° Maseru: 11° | 26° Antananarivo: 13° | 24° Lilongwe: 16° | 29° Maputo: 18° | 33° Windhoek: 15° | 28° Cape Town: 14° | 21° Durban: 19° | 26° Johannesburg: 16° | 26° Dar es Salaam: 24° | 31° Lusaka: 16° | 28° Harare: 13° | 28° Currency: GBP to NAD 23.44 | EUR to NAD 20.05 | CNY to NAD 2.59 | USD to NAD 18.78 | DZD to NAD 0.14 | AOA to NAD 0.02 | BWP to NAD 1.31 | EGP to NAD 0.38 | KES to NAD 0.14 | NGN to NAD 0.01 | ZMW to NAD 0.69 | ZWL to NAD 0.04 | BRL to NAD 3.64 | RUB to NAD 0.2 | INR to NAD 0.22 | USD to DZD 134.14 | USD to AOA 834.06 | USD to BWP 13.69 | USD to EGP 47.8 | USD to KES 134.48 | USD to NGN 1389 | USD to ZAR 18.79 | USD to ZMW 26.75 | USD to ZWL 321 | Stock Exchange: JSE All Share Index 76076.19 Down -0.5% | Namibian Stock Exchange (NSX) Overall Index 1690.93 Down -0.96% | Casablanca Stock Exchange (CSE) MASI 13373.9 Up +0.14% | Egyptian Exchange (EGX) 30 Index 24448.73 Down -6.01% | Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) DCI 9146.09 Same 0 | NSX: MTC 7.75 SAME | Anirep 8.99 SAME | Capricorn Investment group 17.34 SAME | FirstRand Namibia Ltd 49 DOWN 0.50% | Letshego Holdings (Namibia) Ltd 4.1 UP 2.50% | Namibia Asset Management Ltd 0.7 SAME | Namibia Breweries Ltd 31.49 UP 0.03% | Nictus Holdings - Nam 2.22 SAME | Oryx Properties Ltd 12.1 UP 1.70% | Paratus Namibia Holdings 11.99 SAME | SBN Holdings 8.45 SAME | Trustco Group Holdings Ltd 0.48 SAME | B2Gold Corporation 47.34 DOWN 1.50% | Local Index closed 677.62 UP 0.12% | Overall Index closed 1534.6 DOWN 0.05% | Osino Resources Corp 19.47 DOWN 2.41% | Commodities: Gold US$ 2 295.27/OZ DOWN -0.0174 | Copper US$ 4.53/lb DOWN -0.0046 | Zinc US$ 2 907.40/T DOWN -0.1% | Brent Crude Oil US$ 86.96/BBP DOWN -0.016 | Platinum US$ 936.21/OZ UP +2.61% Sport results: Premier League: Nottingham Forest 0 vs 2 Manchester City | Bournemouth 3 vs 0 Brighton | Tottenham Hotspur 2 vs 3 Arsenal | Aston Villa 2 vs 2 Chelsea | Everton 1 vs 0 Brentford | Wolves 2 vs 1 Luton Town | Fulham 1 vs 1 Crystal Palace | Manchester United 1 vs 1 Burnley | Newcastle 5 vs 1 Sheffield United | West Ham 2 vs 2 Liverpool LaLiga: Barcelona 4 vs 2 Valencia | Real Betis 1 vs 1 Sevilla | Villarreal 3 vs 0 Rayo Vallecano | Granada 3 vs 0 Osasuna | Cadiz 1 vs 1 Mallorca | Atletico Madrid 3 vs 1 Athletic Club | Deportivo Alaves 3 vs 0 Celta Vigo | Almería 1 vs 3 Getafe | Las Palmas 0 vs 2 Girona SerieA: Genoa 3 vs 0 Cagliari | Fiorentina 5 vs 1 Sassuolo | Napoli 2 vs 2 AS Roma | Atalanta 2 vs 0 Empoli | Bologna 1 vs 1 Udinese | Inter Milan 2 vs 0 Torino | SS Lazio 1 vs 0 Hellas Verona | Juventus 0 vs 0 AC Milan | Lecce 1 vs 1 Monza European Championships Qualifying: Preston North End 0 vs 3 Leicester City | Hull City 3 vs 3 Ipswich Town | Millwall FC 1 vs 0 Plymouth Argyle | Blackburn Rovers 0 vs 0 Coventry City | Watford 1 vs 0 Sunderland | Bristol City 2 vs 0 Rotherham United | Huddersfield Town 1 vs 1 Birmingham City | Sheffield Wednesday 3 vs 0 West Bromwich Albion | Norwich City 2 vs 2 Swansea City | Cardiff City 1 vs 4 Middlesbrough | Southampton 0 vs 1 Stoke City English Championship: Preston North End 0 vs 3 Leicester City | Hull City 3 vs 3 Ipswich Town | Millwall FC 1 vs 0 Plymouth Argyle | Blackburn Rovers 0 vs 0 Coventry City | Watford 1 vs 0 Sunderland | Bristol City 2 vs 0 Rotherham United | Huddersfield Town 1 vs 1 Birmingham City | Sheffield Wednesday 3 vs 0 West Bromwich Albion | Norwich City 2 vs 2 Swansea City | Cardiff City 1 vs 4 Middlesbrough | Southampton 0 vs 1 Stoke City Weather: Katima Mulilo: 13° | 33° Rundu: 13° | 32° Eenhana: 14° | 33° Oshakati: 16° | 32° Ruacana: 15° | 33° Tsumeb: 16° | 31° Otjiwarongo: 15° | 29° Omaruru: 16° | 31° Windhoek: 15° | 28° Gobabis: 16° | 29° Henties Bay: 17° | 30° Wind speed: 21km/h, Wind direction: S, Low tide: 13:33, High tide: 07:25, Low Tide: 02:00, High tide: 20:21 Swakopmund: 16° | 22° Wind speed: 23km/h, Wind direction: SW, Low tide: 13:31, High tide: 07:23, Low Tide: 02:00, High tide: 20:19 Walvis Bay: 19° | 30° Wind speed: 28km/h, Wind direction: SW, Low tide: 13:31, High tide: 07:22, Low Tide: 02:00, High tide: 20:18 Rehoboth: 16° | 29° Mariental: 20° | 32° Keetmanshoop: 21° | 32° Aranos: 18° | 31° Lüderitz: 18° | 33° Ariamsvlei: 18° | 32° Oranjemund: 15° | 32° Luanda: 26° | 29° Gaborone: 18° | 31° Lubumbashi: 12° | 26° Mbabane: 16° | 30° Maseru: 11° | 26° Antananarivo: 13° | 24° Lilongwe: 16° | 29° Maputo: 18° | 33° Windhoek: 15° | 28° Cape Town: 14° | 21° Durban: 19° | 26° Johannesburg: 16° | 26° Dar es Salaam: 24° | 31° Lusaka: 16° | 28° Harare: 13° | 28° Economic Indicators: Currency: GBP to NAD 23.44 | EUR to NAD 20.05 | CNY to NAD 2.59 | USD to NAD 18.78 | DZD to NAD 0.14 | AOA to NAD 0.02 | BWP to NAD 1.31 | EGP to NAD 0.38 | KES to NAD 0.14 | NGN to NAD 0.01 | ZMW to NAD 0.69 | ZWL to NAD 0.04 | BRL to NAD 3.64 | RUB to NAD 0.2 | INR to NAD 0.22 | USD to DZD 134.14 | USD to AOA 834.06 | USD to BWP 13.69 | USD to EGP 47.8 | USD to KES 134.48 | USD to NGN 1389 | USD to ZAR 18.79 | USD to ZMW 26.75 | USD to ZWL 321 | Stock Exchange: JSE All Share Index 76076.19 Down -0.5% | Namibian Stock Exchange (NSX) Overall Index 1690.93 Down -0.96% | Casablanca Stock Exchange (CSE) MASI 13373.9 Up +0.14% | Egyptian Exchange (EGX) 30 Index 24448.73 Down -6.01% | Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) DCI 9146.09 Same 0 | NSX: MTC 7.75 SAME | Anirep 8.99 SAME | Capricorn Investment group 17.34 SAME | FirstRand Namibia Ltd 49 DOWN 0.50% | Letshego Holdings (Namibia) Ltd 4.1 UP 2.50% | Namibia Asset Management Ltd 0.7 SAME | Namibia Breweries Ltd 31.49 UP 0.03% | Nictus Holdings - Nam 2.22 SAME | Oryx Properties Ltd 12.1 UP 1.70% | Paratus Namibia Holdings 11.99 SAME | SBN Holdings 8.45 SAME | Trustco Group Holdings Ltd 0.48 SAME | B2Gold Corporation 47.34 DOWN 1.50% | Local Index closed 677.62 UP 0.12% | Overall Index closed 1534.6 DOWN 0.05% | Osino Resources Corp 19.47 DOWN 2.41% | Commodities: Gold US$ 2 295.27/OZ DOWN -0.0174 | Copper US$ 4.53/lb DOWN -0.0046 | Zinc US$ 2 907.40/T DOWN -0.1% | Brent Crude Oil US$ 86.96/BBP DOWN -0.016 | Platinum US$ 936.21/OZ UP +2.61%