Andrew Papanikitas is Deputy Editor of the BJGP and a GP in Oxford. He is on X: @gentlemedic
Dear readers,
Seasons Greetings to one and all!
Last year we shared some party games. This year I’d like to share a concept for conversation. You could share it or leave it in the background of your psyche as the news and issues of the day mingle with the miscellanies of the past. The concept is the ‘Factoid.’ We are fond of factoids at BJGP Life as they make engaging reading for introduction or an opinion piece. However… The term factoid is itself disputed! It can mean a mistaken assumption repeated so often that it is believed to be true, such as the ‘May you live in interesting times!’ curse, though the idea that children watch the TV series Doctor Who from behind the sofa has been cited.1 Or it has come to mean an arcane or trivial, but hopefully interesting fact, such as the surprise when you hear for the first time that ‘Medicine is a social science, and politics nothing but medicine at a larger scale,” was written by one of the ancestral fathers of cellular pathology (And not by Santa’s red-nosed reindeer -That’s a different Rudolf). Interestingly while the latter ‘feels’ like a factoid, it probably counts as a fact. The factoid is a useful reminder that Christmas should not be just a passive time of being fed and entertained. It can be an active one of reaching out to others, going for that Christmas Day walk with family or friends, participating in the diner table conversation and even in the comfort of your own head shining a light on those factoids! Sharing ideas can be as much fun as sharing food (I may be biased…).
So when the party games or clinical shifts are over and the armchair or sofa beckons…
Some Christmas ‘Cracker’ reading from our own miscellany:
- https://bjgplife.com/miscellany/
- https://bjgplife.com/imaginary/
- https://bjgplife.com/vulnerability/
- https://bjgplife.com/grieving-for-a-lost-christmas-cake/
- https://bjgplife.com/a-christmas-cracker-from-bjgp-life-party-games/ (Contains an actual party game!)
- https://bjgplife.com/its-a-wonderful-gp-life-part-1/
- https://bjgplife.com/a-bjgp-christmas-carol-part-one/
- https://bjgplife.com/storytime-as-a-vehicle-for-reflective-practice-part-2-the-christmas-commercial/
- https://bjgplife.com/the-rcgp-saves-the-world-in-time-for-christmas-again/
- https://bjgplife.com/five§-woke-ish-stocking-fillers/
Some Christmas ‘Cracker’ listening:
- https://bjgplife.com/the-bjgp-christmas-stocking-filler-podcast/
- https://bjgplife.com/a-christmas-reflection/
Fact or factoid? The festival of the unconquered sun.
Before the Christmas parties came along, the ancient Romans celebrated the winter solstice as the festival of ‘Sol Invictus,’ the ‘Unconquered Sun.’ The days had grown shorter and shorter as the winter solstice (the shortest day) approached. However, The solstice was the point at which the ‘weakening’ sun rallied and the days would lengthen into the summer.2 I find the idea of returning unconquered from the darkness of winter inspiring, especially when many winters around the world are more metaphorical than meteorological. Christmastime is a time of renewal for Christians and non-Christians, marking the beginning of the end of winter.
A Merry Christmas from the team at BJGP Life! Wherever you are, whatever you are doing, whether the season of good will for you is rooted in Christianity, another world faith, or none, I hope you find comfort, joy and renewal.
References
- https://www.theguardian.com/media/mind-your-language/2014/jan/17/mind-your-language-factoids [accessed 23/12/24]
- Forsyth M, Saturnalia, Sol Invictus and the Kalends, p.15-19 in A Christmas cornucopia: the hidden stories behind our Yuletide traditions, Penguin Random House UK, 2016
Featured photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash
