Christmas message from Premier Craig CannonierMerry Christmas Bermuda!This is my first Christmas message to you as Premier and, on behalf of my wife Antoinette and my family I wish you all the best this holiday season.This is such a special time of year, a time to come together with the people who mean the most in our lives, to share with them the love that lies in each of us.It is a time of gift-giving, for sure, but we should never overlook the fact that the greatest gift is the gift of ourselves.Too often we forget that simple truth.We get caught up in busy lives — trying to make ends meet, locked in routines, moving about — that we often overlook, or take for granted, the people who are the source of our strength, our identity and our guidance.Christmas gives us time to appreciate what we have to be thankful for, and to reach out to those who shape our lives, who make us who we are.So this Christmas, I urge you to reach out to your sister, your son, your father, your mother, your wife, your husband, your friends, your colleagues and your fellow Bermudians.Use this day to show your appreciation to the people who make your life good:With love for your family and friends, with the support and sociability you extend to your neighbours, with the courtesies you express each day to others on the street, and in service to those who need your support.Use this holiday to spread good cheer, giving freely the gift that is you.Give to others as you would have them give to you.Use the spirit of Christmas to grow our world into a better place — giving of ourselves, brother to brother, sister to sister; each of us supporting one another, letting the spirit flow forward; taking us to a better place.Christmas is about us coming together with love in our hearts and in faith that we can be restored and renewed.It is a time to set aside differences, to celebrate the spirit symbolised by the birth of our saviour, Jesus Christ, whom God put on this Earth to reveal a path of unity and love for our fellow man.Today in Bermuda, we need to show that love. Many are suffering, many are filled with doubt about the future; many are worried they will not be able to pay the rent or put decent food on the table, let alone a gift under the tree.To those who can help them, I urge you to reach out. I urge you to open your hearts, extend a hand — as Jesus would.Now is the time to give of yourself.Now is the time to do good for your fellow man.Now is the time to be what Christmas stands for in your heart — sharing, giving, supporting, with the love for others that lies within each of us — as Jesus showed.Let us use this Christmas Day, and the spirit it represents, to move forward together, with love in our hearts, giving to others to make the life of our Island more beautiful than ever.And as you celebrate, take a moment to say a prayer for our Island home.Pray that as a community we continue to look out for one another.Merry Christmas. God bless you and God bless Bermuda.