• Contact
  • About
  • ISSN 3049-9798
  • Authors and editors
NEWSLETTER SIGN UP
Bylines Scotland
Advertisement
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Society
  • Health
  • Environment
  • Science and tech
  • Podcast
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Society
  • Health
  • Environment
  • Science and tech
  • Podcast
Bylines Scotland
Home Society Culture

What Christmas means to me

Bylines Scotland is running stories written by members of our team about what Christmas means to them – writer Charlie McCarthy

Charlie McCarthy by Charlie McCarthy
15-12-2025 17:12
in Culture, Society
Reading Time: 2 mins read
A A
Christmas calendar with baubles

Bylines Scotland Team's Christmas stories, image courtesy of Patricia S Paton

Share on Bluesky

It’s a funny time of year, Christmas.

I think for me it’s primarily a time to take stock, what have you done this past year that will stay with you? What have you done that you’re proud of? What have you done that you’d rather forget? We all have answers to these questions, and they are relevant every year.

I love dipping my toe into family time. Don’t get me wrong, this must be for a limited time only before we quickly remember why we only do this once a year. It is nice to see people, but family can be like fish, they go off after three days or so and so they’re best enjoyed in short bursts and then normal i.e. more remote, service can be resumed and harmony restored. The gin helps.

I’m turning into a grumpy old man from a classic novel. However, I’ll let you be in my Christmas if I can be in yours.


More on society:

Christmas calendar with baubles
Culture

Childhood memories of Christmas

by Linda Kerr
14 December 2025

CLICK HERE TO DONATE TO OUR CROWDFUNDER

HELP US BECOME STRONGER SO THAT WE CAN CONTINUE TO DELIVER POWERFUL CITIZEN JOURNALISM!

Sign up for the Bylines Scotland newsletter

* indicates required

Consent for having Bylines Network store my submitted information

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. For information about our privacy practices, please visit our website.

We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By clicking below to subscribe, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing. Learn more about Mailchimp's privacy practices.

Charlie McCarthy

Charlie McCarthy

Charlie writes the "Out and About" monthly column for Bylines Scotland as well as a number of other features. Charlie lived for many years in North Yorkshire before moving back to Scotland. Originally from Glasgow, he lived in the North of England for most of his life. Before becoming a writer, Charlie was a science teacher. His areas of interest include politics, the environment and education.

Related Posts

Books

An invitation to a gripping and high-stakes story that is impossible to put down

by James Jobson
1 October 2026
Culture

Fine dining meets comfort at Vera

by Frances Krystal
25 September 2026
Books

Independent bookshops: vital to local communities

by James Jobson
11 September 2026
Culture

At my table – an ode to inclusion 

by Naz Saad
9 September 2026
Society

Renewing civic pride in Edinburgh

by Piotr Wesolowski
5 September 2026
Next Post
An image with pieces of wood with the letters in black print spelling out the words MENTAL HEALTH in capitals reminiscent of scrabble tiles

Stark increased numbers of pupils with mental health issues

PLEASE SUPPORT OUR CROWDFUNDER

BROWSE BY TAGS

Afghanistan Charity Christmas Climate Change Council areas Covid19 culture Defence Defence and security Democracy Devolution Election environment European Movement Fish Farms Glasgow History Holyrood Journalism Labour literature Monarchy Monetary policy NHS NHS Scotland Out and about politics Press release Pulse of the NHS Reviews Rights and freedoms Russia Scientific research Scotland Scottish economics ScottishIndependence ShipBuilding SNP society Sport and recreation Tories UK economics Ukraine Universal Basic Income Westminster

MY SCOTLAND

A pretty path stretching from a stunner of a town to a beauty of a village

5 October 2026

LETTERS

Person typing an email

Letters to the editor

22 December 2023
Bylines Scotland

We are a not-for-profit citizen journalism publication. Our aim is to publish well-written, fact-based articles and opinion pieces on subjects that are of interest to people in Scotland and beyond.

Bylines Scotland is a trading brand of Bylines Networks Limited which is separate to, but allied with, Byline Times.

Learn more about us

No Result
View All Result
  • About
  • Authors and editors
  • Complaints
  • Contact
  • Donate
  • Letters
  • Privacy
  • Network Map
  • Network RSS Feeds
  • Submission Guidelines
  • Download the Bylines Network App

© 2022-2026 Bylines Scotland. Powerful Citizen Journalism. ISSN 3049-9798

No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • Economics
    • Education
    • Scotland
  • Politics
    • Brexit
    • Europe
    • Holyrood
      • Election 2026
    • United Kingdom
    • World
  • Society
    • Arts and entertainment
    • Culture
    • History
  • Health
  • Environment
  • Science and tech
  • Authors and editors
  • Podcast

Newsletter sign up

CROWDFUNDER

© 2022-2026 Bylines Scotland. Powerful Citizen Journalism. ISSN 3049-9798

-
00:00
00:00

Queue

Update Required Flash plugin
-
00:00
00:00