Andre Jebbinson, Staff Reporter

Carlene Davis

Santa Claus, do you ever come to the ghetto

Santa Claus, do you ever wonder why we suffer so

Santa Claus, will you come to the ghetto

Santa Claus, we would like to see where your reindeers go.

All year long we've been beating down crime

How we hold on through those hard times

We aint gonna fight, we aint gonna fuss

But where are the presents that you brought for us.

It is often said that there are two Jamaicas. If that were true, then naturally there would be two Jamaican versions of Christmas. On one side, children and adults can tick off items on their wish lists, whereas the less fortunate cannot even afford to window shop, much less compose a list of the things they want.

It's no wonder Carlene Davis thought it necessary to speak about Santa's apparent detour from the ghetto and poorer areas over the years. Santa Claus, she said, is not the mythical figure that many fantasises about, but regular people.

Popular Christmas songs

Santa Claus Do You Ever Come To The Ghetto is perhaps one of the most popular Jamaican Christmas songs, but the reality is not one to be celebrated.

"People who are able to give should give and reach out to the less fortunate," Davis said.

Unfortunately, the song is more relevant today than it was when it was written by Tommy Cowan in the 80s. Davis said things continue to get worse, but only so can the words in the Bible be fulfilled.

In the meantime, she wants to remind Jamaicans that Christmas is about doing what Christ wants them to do, instead of being caught in the lights and the gifts. It is also a time to recognise and celebrate why Christ came, "to set the captives free". This is a gift that is greater than those available in stores or on eBay.

Surely it was a night like none other when Christ was born, but Davis says his purpose only began in Bethlehem. His great wonders continued in Nazareth all the way to Calvary.

There has been much controversy about the most appropriate phrase for the season. First, it was called Xmas, then more recently, Happy Holidays, and there was a brief attempt at Winter Fest. But according to Davis, even members of the Jewish faith have realised that season is about Christ.

"If they can recognise it, then we need to see the real reason and put Christ back into it. Men should come to realise that they cannot do it by themselves but through God," she said.

A little good deed will not hurt during this festive season either. Davis has already been to communities carolling and giving as much as she can. She plans to take a trip to Ocho Rios to be with family on Christmas Eve and then make the trip back into Kingston for the big day.

However, she still wants the issues in her song addressed because she believes everyone should be privy to a merry Christmas.

We see you in the papers, you're on TV giving the toys to some pickney

Wondering what's happening to poor people like we. Is it because we no have no chimney?