With a few days to go to Christmas, a writer listed the things he misses about spending Christmas away from Singapore (9 things I miss about celebrating Christmas abroad, Dec 16).

Those things include sawing a tree to take home, walking in the snow and the smell and crackle of a fireplace where he toasted marshmallows.

But he concludes that even without those things, the spirit of Christmas lives in Singapore and that Christmas is still about peace on earth and goodwill to all humankind.

My Christmas celebrations over the last 80 years have all been in warm and comfortable Singapore, with a tree that has served the family for 50 years, decorated by young happy hands and faces, with gifts lovingly placed beneath, with the anticipation of church carollers coming on Christmas Day while the family sits down to a festive lunch cooked at home after church service. To me, that's the real thing.

Happy Christmas to all in Singapore, from Singapore!

David Kraal