Nicola Sturgeon has urged people to keep an eye out for friends and neighbours who may be spending the festive period alone.
In her annual Christmas message, the First Minister , said that it was important to spend some time over the next few weeks giving comfort, companionship and support to those who may be alone during the holidays.
She said: “Christmas is about spending time with those we love, and for thinking about friends and family at home and abroad. It is also a time to reflect on those less fortunate than ourselves. So this Christmas, I would encourage everyone to take the time to check on a friend or neighbour who is on their own.
“We should also remember those working in our emergency services, those keeping our transport network running and the many more who give up time with their loved ones at Christmas in the service of others.
“Scotland has a proud reputation as a caring country and I want to thank everyone in the last year who has extended a warm welcome to those seeking refuge and comfort here.
“So, wherever you might be celebrating Christmas, in Scotland or overseas, at work or at home, I wish you all the best for a Merry Christmas.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel