I am here (at work) almost every year and I have been for 35 years now. Duty calls. Sometimes you feel down, but you have to take care of inmates and protect them. Christmas is good for the inmates. They get visits. It is very special, as relatives and loved ones come. Staff provide for themselves. We get nothing special, not even meals.

I will be working on Christmas Day. I have been in the force for 18 years and I have spent many such days on the job. The day is usually quiet, especially in the morning. Jamaicans take the time out to be with family. But in some instances, there are disputes and coming into the night more accidents might happen due to persons driving drunk or a lot of young people driving at that time. But for the most part, Christmas is usually a peaceful time.

One of the disadvantages of the job is that it takes you away from family. I have two young children. I condition their mind to let them know when I will be away and when I will be home. Whether it's Boxing Day or New Year's Day, whichever day I get off, I make it special for them. On Christmas Day, if I am working in the night I will have time to prepare Christmas dinner. If I work in day they will have me in the nights. For me, that is where the grandparents and other relatives come in. They do not miss out on a lot.

At Maxfield Park, we have 80 care givers and ancillary staff workers, some of whom will be working on Christmas Day. Teachers and guidance counsellors will be off.

We will be giving the children gifts on Christmas Day and they will have their Christmas meal. Currently, we have 111 children up to age 17.

For the children, the gifts were provided by Garth Moodie of York Pharmacy, and other Jamaicans have donated from time to time. We should have enough. We want to be able to give every child something. Yesterday, a Mr Devon Clarke came in and gave us a donation of $100,000 in food, toiletries and appliances. That was a gift to the home.

Normally speaking, what we have in the hospitals is not a skeleton staff. Instead, the level of staffing is like Saturdays and Sundays. On Christmas Day, it is business as usual and similar to what obtains on a weekend. Personally, I view every day like any other day. You see patients as usual. But it is a poignant time for a lot of patients. We make sure that only the very ill are inside as we tend to discharge those who can be managed at home. Hospitals too have something a little extra for the meals and there are visitors and pastors who come on Christmas Day to cheer up those who are ill. A visiting choir or staff may sing over the intercom for everyone.

Traditionally, the governor general also visits the hospital during the Christmas period and he greets the staff over intercom and also moves from ward to ward offering words of comfort.

Christmas Day is always quiet. It's like a Sunday. Easy. There is nothing special happening here unless somebody in the community decides to send something up for us. I am not sure if I will be working. Some of us get Boxing Day, some get Christmas Day, some get New Year's.

I will be working on Christmas Day. It will be my first as I am a new fireman. Last year this time, I was still in college at CASE (College of Agriculture, Science and Education). At Christmas, I usually spend time with family and friends enjoying ourselves and party in the evening. Here at Annotto Bay Fire Station we plan to organise something special. We will come together like a family and enjoy ourselves. We can't drink on the job but there will be chicken, cakes, fruit juice and natural, non-alcoholic wine.

This is my first Christmas off since in 2003. I don't know the Lord just work it out. I will be working on Boxing Day. On Christmas Day, I plan to just to stay home for the first time in five years. At Linstead Hospital sometimes it's quiet, but sometimes we get cases from Gran' Market day - the 24th. These might include lacerations as the accident, always go up a little. On Christmas Day nothing is predictable. Once there is an accident you have an emergency. Sometimes churches come in and give little token to patients. Sometimes they also have choral service to cheer them up.