Christmas Message: Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley

Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley is asking Barbadians to not only love the nation, but to visibly show that love of country and for each other.

“We need to show it; show it in how we demonstrate that we care deeply about the people who also call this place home. Show it in helping a neighbour that is in need. Show it in making room at the table. Show it when somebody bad drives you. Show it when somebody answers you in a way that they shouldn’t. Show it by simply checking in, yes, even when life is busy,” Mottley said in her Christmas Message.

She drove the point home later in the message, urging people to stay connected.

“Renew it, if you’ve lost it, practice it daily if you have it. If Barbados is to remain a place where we all feel safe, where we all feel valued, where we all feel at home, we cannot retreat behind walls, whether physical or emotional,” Mottley added.

Christmas Message by Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley:

Good morning, everyone.

To those at home, to those abroad, to the residents and friends visiting our shores, a pleasant, a blessed and a merry, merry, merry Christmas to you all.

You know, there’s a feeling that settles over this island at Christmas time. It is quiet, but unmistakable. You feel it in the nip of the Christmas breeze coming off the Atlantic Ocean. You see it in the fresh coats of paint more and more that we’re seeing on our houses.

And yes, yes, yes. You smell it in the kitchen, where the ingredients of great cake have been fermenting for weeks, and in some cases months, and where the ham is about to be sliced, if you haven’t sliced it already, taking what you shouldn’t take before you took it.

But Barbados, my friends, at Christmas, breathes differently at this time of the year. Christmas invites us to slow down, to step out of the rush, at least most of us, to put down the weight we’ve been carrying and turning our attention back to what truly, truly matters, our faith, our family, our neighbours, our home.

For many, this is that time of year when we come together to recognise the birth of our Lord, Jesus Christ. For some, it is a time where we get a little boost of energy in the name of Christmas, cleaning, cooking, looking for gifts for loved ones. As I look across our nation this season, from the lights in Bridgetown to the laughter rising in our villages and our communities, one truth stands out – Barbados is held together by love; quiet love maybe, practical love maybe, but love, nevertheless; a love that shows up without needing applause.

Earlier this year, as we celebrated our 59th year of Independence and the fourth year of our Republic, I spoke with you of the need for us to renew that love, to fall in love with our country again. My friends and family, while there is no doubt that, yes, as I said, we love our nation, we love Barbados, we need to find a way to continuously renew that passion, and something that we haven’t necessarily been comfortable with, to visibly show that love for our nation and for each other.

We need to show it. Show it in how we demonstrate that we care deeply about the people who also call this place home. Show it in helping a neighbour that is in need. Show it in making room at the table. Show it when somebody bad drives you. Show it when somebody answers you in a way that they shouldn’t. Show it by simply checking in, yes, even when life is busy.

When we look back on this year, we have, my friends, made good progress, even as we have faced challenges; but that is life. That is what we do every day in our own lives and our country’s affairs are no different. But amidst it all, we have also, this year, become more aware of the need for the simple things that we control to be central to all that we do.

We’ve done well by the large metrics, it is how we treat to each other and how we live our lives that will carry us to the final post, to the goals that we need to be the best place to live, to be the best place to work with each other, to be the best place to visit.

Many of us are consciously making efforts in the small things that we speak about. More and more, we value and see others appreciate that patience, generosity of spirit and care must be daily acts that must define who we are and how we treat to and with others. We have been reminded that progress, my friends, is not only measured in tangible or monetary milestones, but in how we treat each other along the way. How many of us have healthy bank accounts but have lost the person that makes our life really stick together? How many of us recognise that it is truly in that smile or that hug that we really find a different purpose for us to continue in that day that everything else seems so heavy on us upon?

So, on this Christmas day, my message to you is simple, so simple.

Stay close, stay connected, stay loving. Renew it, if you’ve lost it, practice it daily if you have it. If Barbados is to remain a place where we all feel safe, where we all feel valued, where we all feel at home, we cannot retreat behind walls, whether physical or emotional. We must first love ourselves, and we must love ourselves enough to know that self-discipline is the first act of self-love. Love also asks us to be our brother’s and sister’s keeper. To care, not just when it is convenient, but when it is necessary.

To families, I say to you, hold our children close and guide them well. We know that that is the defining difference in the kind of adults that they will become. Teach them kindness, respect and, above all else, responsibility. Teach them to build their communities and to care for their elders, for they will be elderly one day. Encourage our young people in the things that they are passionate about, so long as they are wholesome. Correct them when needed, but always, always with love at the centre. Talk with them, not at, to, or about them.

And yes, for our great country, Barbados, our nation. Let us move into 2026, in the new year, committed to loving Barbados, not only in word, but in our actions, daily; in not littering, in treating each other with respect, in learning how to resolve arguments without being violent, in learning teamwork to build things of value for the benefit of as many people as possible. Yes, my friends, loving this country enough to know that it is the duty of each of us, each of us, to care for it, to protect it, and to keep building Barbados each day, together.

So, whether today finds you out enjoying the festivities or resting quietly at home, whether you are worshiping in church or giving thanks in the stillness of your heart, remember this, my friends, we may be small, but our love makes us strong. Our generosity of spirit keeps us wealthy. Let us in the spirit of Christmas and with the example of the life and words of Jesus Christ, commit to these small, but powerful things daily.

Let us make new habits and be better versions of ourselves and collectively allow our nation Barbados to be the best that it can be. On behalf of your government and from my own household to yours, I wish you a safe, blessed and peaceful Christmas, filled yes, with love and more love.

God bless you, and may God continue to bless our nation, Barbados. And may He allow the love that I spoke of, to envelop all of us, individually and as a nation in the spirit of Jesus.

Merry Christmas.

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