Christmas & New Year’s Message 2011
Season’s Greetings to my fellow Sint Maarteners and Visitors,
As a nation we are preparing to celebrate the feast of Christmas. Here in Sint Maarten it is eagerly anticipated as a time for family gathering, religious services, and getting together with friends.
I wish to extend best wishes to Sint Maarteners here and abroad, and to all those visiting with us at this time of year a very Merry Christmas.
During this time we are reminded of God’s great love for our country. The feast of Christmas is a very special occasion and a time for us not only to reflect on Jesus love for us but for our love for family and friends. May the expressions of goodwill and the gifts that we exchange be the outward expression of that love.
Despite 2011 being a trying and difficult year for the people and families of Sint Maarten, we continue to manage our economy prudently and sensibly so as to ensure that we are well placed to benefit from the global recovery as it slowly occurs from the worst recession in living memory.
Despite the challenges and uncertainties of 2011, Christmas ushers in a season of generosity of spirit and sharing.
Christmas is and has always been an extraordinary time for sharing and giving. It is the season for celebration and for renewal. It is a time for us to forget the things that have divided us throughout the year during the course of the year and to celebrate the things that binds us together as a Sint Maarten community and people.
Let this holiday season once again be a period where we spend quality time with our families and friends. Let it be a time for hope, a period of joy for young and old alike, a time for giving and receiving, of love and friendship.
God Bless the people of Sint Maarten and our visitors.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year
Franklin Meyers
Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Telecommunications & Transport