December’s calendar was marked the traditional public celebrations of Christmas in Bermuda — and the anticipation of an auspicious 2026 when David Burt, the Premier and Minister of Finance, unveiled a Pre-Budget Report on December 18 that forecast the winding up of a multibillion-dollar national debt.

By 2025, the island’s bills to its creditors totalled about $3.2 billion. Brutal interest payments had for many years exceeded the dimensions of the biggest government ministries.

A seemingly unshakeable debt had ballooned over different administrations, such that the late journalist and economic analyst Larry Burchall coined a suitably menacing name — Nanci, from the trickster spider in African and West Indian folklore — depicted as gobbling up cash in non-negotiable costs and payments.

Mr Burt appeared to have an early Christmas present for Bermudians, with a plan to divert 70 per cent of revenues from the fledgeling corporate income tax into a debt-busting plan that would wrestle it down below $2.5 billion by the 2027-28 fiscal year.

With a mere two months until he would deliver the 2026-27 Budget in the House of Assembly, this meant Mr Burt got to be the bearer of good news.

The island’s high cost of living loomed large throughout 2025, but the extra spending associated with Christmas had it weighing even more on the minds of Bermudians.

It was enough for Kim Wilson, the Minister of Health, to come out with a pointed warning on December 11 for residents who might be struggling to find cheer in the season.

When it came to the financial toll of spending on gifts, Ms Wilson warned: “It’s probably more important to be present rather than to buy a present.”

The challenges faced by some residents in putting an affordable roof over their family’s heads was one of the top issues of 2025.

Zane DeSilva, the Minister of Housing and Municipalities, unveiled one of the Government’s plans on the evening of December 16, when an occasionally sceptical audience at Boaz Island in Sandys got a look at the modular housing programme to be piloted in their neighbourhood.

Describing himself as “hellbent” on reckoning with Bermuda’s dearth of affordable housing, Mr DeSilva told the gathering: “We cannot have people living in cars and tents, people living on top on one another — we cannot have that.”

Not all attendees took to the prospect of trailer-like modular homes next door, but Mr DeSilva was adamant at exploring new options for a long-term solution to Bermuda’s housing needs.

The year brought the island closer to the first phases of universal healthcare in 2026. Early in December, Ms Wilson told MPs of extra benefits for residents getting added to the existing basic health insurance packages.

However, premiums were set to rise in 2026 thanks to a substantial pay deal negotiated with hospital staff requiring payments of about $38 million to unionised employees.

Despite the prospect of good revenues coming from the CIT, Mr Burt made it clear that the Government could not “underwrite” mandatory premiums indefinitely.

Behind the seasonal celebrations, the spectre of gun violence lurked.

Although there were no injuries reported after a home on Angle Street in Pembroke was fired at on the night of December 2, the sixth fatal shooting of the year came on the night of December 18.

Again, a residence was fired upon — this time at Spruce Lane in Pembroke — claiming the life of 40-year-old Jahmel Mallory, who was pronounced dead at the hospital shortly after police found him unresponsive inside the home.

Michael Weeks, the Minister of National Security, pleaded with the community to help authorities and to “stop pretending this is just another headline”.

Another of the Bermuda’s pernicious problems was driving.

On December 22, the island mourned its tenth road death of the year when police identified Jai Simmons, 17, who had been injured in a crash along with another 17-year-old in the early hours of October 29.

Police decried the island’s driving culture with a pointed announcement on December 14 by Chief Inspector Robert Cardwell after a weekend of chaos on Bermuda’s roads left a litany of serious injuries.

There were 14 crashes recorded in a single day. Mr Cardwell also highlighted close to 200 arrests for impaired driving for the year.

The year closed with a milestone for The Royal Gazette with the retirement of Dexter Smith after 10½ years as the newspaper’s first Black Editor.

It marked the end of an era for Mr Smith after a lifetime in the newspaper business, beginning with his work as a teenager in the pressroom of the Gazette before starting out as a reporter covering sport.

Mr Smith was sports editor for the Gazette and then the Mid-Ocean News, and spent 13 years with The Times in London before making his return to the island and taking on the leadership of its daily.