December 26 carries a sobriety of its own that is rarely understood. The lights remain on, the tables still bear traces of Christmas Eve, but the spirit of collective suspension has ended. Christmas has passed. And with it has also passed the brief annual performance of universal harmony that, every year, repeats itself with predictable fragility.
It is on this day that reality returns, silent and inexorable. The family tensions that a dinner cannot resolve return. The national problems that a festive message does not dissolve return. The weight of institutions returns, in a world that is increasingly more confused, more fragmented, and dangerously detached from the enduring principles that for centuries sustained Western civilization.
Christmas reminds us of order, sacrifice, and responsibility. December 26 questions us about the seriousness with which those lessons were received—whether as lasting convictions or merely as a ritual tolerated for twenty-four hours, quickly forgotten when routine resumes.
In recent decades, we have witnessed the systematic erosion of authority under the guise of a poorly understood compassion. Rules have come to be seen as oppression. Discipline as intolerance. Responsibility as a moral anachronism. Yet societies do not disintegrate on Christmas Day. They disintegrate the following day, when sentimentalism replaces the enforcement of the law and permissiveness presents itself as virtue.
It is no coincidence that law enforcement officers rarely receive recognition on December 26. While many extend their rest, they return to duty. They are the ones who confront the disorder that festive rhetoric ignores. Where ideology fails, the need for authority, courage, hierarchy, and restraint remains. Without these pillars, no community can endure for long.
December 26 should therefore be a moment of reflection, not indulgence. A day to recognize that goodwill without order leads to chaos. That generosity without rules destroys what it intends to protect. Genuine charity demands responsibility. True compassion cannot exist without respect for the law, for borders, and for institutions.
If Christmas symbolizes hope, December 26 demands seriousness. Seriousness in the family. At work. In public life. In respect for legitimate authority. In the defense of the law. And in recognizing those who, when the celebration ends, remain on watch between civilization and disorder—often without applause and almost always without understanding.
A society that believes in its values only one day a year will not survive the remaining three hundred and sixty-four.
December 26 poses a simple and unavoidable question: are we willing to live by what we claim to defend, even when the lights go out?
Make use of this day by doing what truly sustains a community. Honor the family. Respect the law. Defend order.
César DePaço
Businessman and Philanthropist
Honorary Consul of Portugal (2014–2020)
Founder and CEO of Summit Nutritionals International Inc.
President of the DePaço Foundation
Unconditional Defender of Law Enforcement and Conservative Principles