AS the festive season settles in, bringing with it reunions, travel, laughter and long-awaited rest, a timely reminder has come from Gweru lawyer Brian Dube: enjoyment must go hand in hand with responsibility.
The holidays are often portrayed as a carefree period — a time to let loose, forget worries and indulge.
But experience has taught us that without restraint, consideration and basic courtesy, what should be a joyful season can quickly turn into one marked by conflict, accidents and regret.
Dube’s call is simple yet profound: Zimbabweans must exercise good behaviour so that everyone can enjoy the festive season and enter the new year happier, not burdened by avoidable problems.
His message cuts across families, friendships, roads and wallets — the very spaces where festive excess often causes the most damage.
Social interactions, he reminds us, require sensitivity.
Visiting relatives and friends is part of our culture, but it should never become an intrusion.
Poorly planned visits can disrupt households, strain resources and spoil the very joy we seek to share.
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Respecting people’s space, time and circumstances is not a rejection of hospitality — it is an extension of it.
Children, too, must be guided.
Travelling with young ones during the holidays should not mean abandoning discipline.
Well-mannered children reflect responsible parenting, while unruly behaviour can strain relationships and create unnecessary tension in other people’s homes.
The festive season is not a pause on values.
There is also the uncomfortable but necessary issue of contribution.
Too often, some people develop the habit of turning up wherever food is served or alcohol is flowing, without offering anything in return.
Celebration should not become exploitation.
Sharing is the essence of the season, but sharing must be mutual.
A culture of taking without giving breeds resentment, not unity.
Perhaps the most critical warning concerns alcohol.
For many, the festive season has become synonymous with excessive drinking.
Yet year after year, headlines tell the same tragic stories: road accidents, domestic violence, assaults and deaths — all fuelled by alcohol abuse.
This is not a time to get drunk and hide behind alcohol while committing crime.
The law does not take a holiday.
Nor do consequences.
Festive cheer should never come at the cost of another person’s safety, dignity or peace.
Drinking and driving, reckless behaviour and settling old grudges under the influence of alcohol are not acts of celebration — they are acts of irresponsibility.
Above all, the festive season should be a time of reconciliation, generosity and reflection.
It is not a season to reopen old wounds, provoke conflict or measure happiness by excess.
In a country where many are struggling economically, sensitivity to others’ realities is more important than ever.
Flaunting spending, overspending to impress or plunging into debt for temporary pleasure only deepens hardship once January arrives.
If you don’t earn like them, don’t spend like them.
Yes, the festive season is here. Let us make merry. Let us laugh, visit, travel and celebrate life.
But let us do so responsibly.
If we respect one another, moderate our behaviour and remember the true spirit of the season, we can ensure that when the celebrations end, what remains are good memories — not police reports, hospital visits or broken relationships.
Celebration is sweetest when it harms no one.
Happy festivities Zimbabwe.
