Inspired by Lennon, J., & Ono, Y. (1971). Happy Xmas (War Is Over). Apple Records.
Photo by Yomex Owo on Unsplash
An iconic song from 1971, but it’s taken me until now to get to grips with its relevance to Christmas.
Ok, so I know there’s all the very merry Christmas bits, but what about war is over? When we look around it’s clear that war is far from over. Not only are there still ongoing battles, but it looks like wars are unlikely to cease to happen for as long as there are people.
Yet perhaps I’ve been looking at this all wrong. Could war really be over if we just wanted it enough? I’m sure the majority of us want war to be over, but at what cost. What are we prepared to sacrifice in our everyday lives to live a life characterised by peace? Are we ready to make war over with others in our own lives? Finished. A truce declared on all those ongoing personal conflicts.
Listening to the song again I begin to see its relevance to Christmas. Christmas is a time when our year draws to a close and we think about the beginning of a new year. The opportunity for us to start again. The gift of Christmas is the opportunity for us to experience a new life.
Approaching the song from this perspective war is over becomes a challenge to the conflicts we have with others on a personal level. Are we prepared to make the sacrifice of our own pride and self-righteousness to declare war is over in our own lives?
It’s a hard call, but as always, we see some ideas for how to do this in the song. The song hopes for an end to fear. Fear is the first thing to go if we want to make a change. We often fear the reaction of others, and their difference to us. The song reminds us that there is so much difference, both in regards to diversity and inequality, in the world. Yet the challenge is set to see beyond our differences and to stop fighting.
And guess what? If we could only accept the challenge to put to bed our own personal conflicts, maybe, just maybe, there might be a hope for an end to war on a more global scale.
Want to get the song on Amazon? Click here.
Please note that any purchase made using this link will earn us a small commission which helps support our work of making living life well accessible for all.
