Editor’s note: The Pacific Daily News asked elected officials what their favorite thing is about Christmas. Below are their responses.
Sen. Chris Barnett
Singing the Nobena songs and thinking about the miracle of the Nino Jesus. I love seeing how generous our People are with their prosperity. I love cooking Christmas dinner for my kids. I love when we come together over a great meal, but I am not doing the dishes again this year! Felis Pasgua!
Sen. Joanne Brown
I want to extend my warmest greetings and best wishes to everyone celebrating Christmas with renewed hope, love, joy, and peace that fills hearts, homes, and families. One of my favorite and most precious gifts throughout Christmas is the gift of time spent with family and loved ones. During these special moments, I realized time is valuable and limited. So, I cherish every moment, every memory, every hug, every kiss, and every gift shared in the spirit of Christmas. May this Christmas season fill your heart and home with many blessings. Merry Christmas!
Sen. Christopher Duenas
Christmas, to me, is a joyous time of uniting family and community. While it’s one of the busiest times of the year, filled with the hustle and bustle of holiday prep and festivities, it welcomes the warmth of Christmas joy. The spirit of Christmas encourages others to uplift those around them, whether it’s through caroling, bell ringing, or fun spirit week themes that bring smiles to the workplace and schools.
As a person of the Christian faith, Christmas holds a profound significance, serving as a reminder of the birth of our lord and savior, Jesus Christ. Our faith teaches that love is shown through giving. As God gave his beloved son to teach us the ways to righteousness, and as Jesus gave his life for the forgiveness of sins, the season emphasizes the spirit of giving, and the blessings and fulfillment found in giving back to others.
Sen. Thomas Fisher
General cheerfulness of my fellow Guamanians. The optimism accompanying the promise of a new year.
Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero
My favorite thing about Christmas is the time for celebration with family and friends and the excitement that can be felt throughout the season, one full of peace, love, and generosity.
Sen. Jesse Lujan
My favorite thing about Christmas is spending time with my loved ones and bringing the community together in the spirit of giving. For me, Christmas is a celebration of timeless values and traditions, promoting faith, kindness, joy, compassion, and peace. It warms my heart when our community comes together during this time, and we all do our best to spread love and joy. I’m lucky to be a part of our island’s tight knit community and am grateful that our culture is very warm and welcoming. Ultimately, spending quality time with each other and creating cherished memories with the people I hold close is what I love about Christmas. But I’d like to say that the most important thing to remember about Christmas is that Jesus is the greatest gift, the reason for the season.
Sen. Roy Quinata
My favorite thing about Christmas is seeing the spirit of unity and community among our people, instilling a shared sense of joy and camaraderie. In our beautiful island, Christmas becomes a special occasion to strengthen our bonds with our family and neighbors. It is a time when we can set aside our differences and come together to celebrate, share, and give. We decorate our homes, pray, and sing the novena, cook our favorite dishes, share it with our neighbors, and spread the spirit of Christmas. It’s the smiles on the faces of our people, the laughter ringing through our homes, and the act of giving and sharing that make Christmas my favorite time of year.
Sen. Joe San Agustin
The Celebration of the Birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. Christmas is a time to appreciate the many blessings that we’ve received and give of our hearts as much as we can for our families and our community. My favorite part of Christmas is sharing our precious time with family reminiscing about the past year and understanding that the new year is hopeful and full of wonderful things for our families and island.
Sen. Telo Taitague
My favorite thing about the holidays in Guam is the fact that it’s the one time of year when we can genuinely say “hello,” and wish perfect strangers a “Merry Christmas” without seeming like a crazy person. For us in the Legislature, greeting strangers on any given day can be a bit tricky depending on the controversial issues of the moment. But during Christmas, we can, with all sincerity and the joy of the season, wish everyone a blessed holiday season and a Happy New Year! (Hopefully, without any unintended awkwardness or angry backlash.) It’s the time of year when we truly can put all of our differences aside and wish each other peace and good health.
Lt. Gov. Joshua Tenorio
My favorite thing about Christmas is the feeling of love, kindness, and goodwill throughout the island. It’s a time to be with family and celebrate life.
Speaker Therese Terlaje
There really is magic around Christmas that comes from opening our hearts to love, hope, and giving. I love the focus around Christmas on quality time with our loved ones, the outreach events that allow us to take better care of those in need, to give back to our community, and to spread cheer and hope throughout our island.
Source: Pacific Daily News