Bringing health home this Christmas in Sabah

There is a certain warmth that returns to Sabah as Christmas approaches. Families sort out their travel dates, children count down the days until cousins arrive, and the kitchen fills with the scent of marinated meat. The soundtrack of the season begins when Mariah Carey’s voice plays from mall speakers and every shop seems to follow, reminding people that they will soon be home. For many families, this is the one time in the year when everyone comes home, the mood softens, work talk shows and people who have carried quiet burdens finally sit at the same table and laugh.

There is real healing in that because strong social connection lowers stress hormones, improves heart health and helps people sleep better. For Sabahans who work far from home, even a short trip back to the kampung lifts a weight that they have carried in silence. Elderly parents often eat better and move more when their children come home, and the simple act of sitting together in the living room calms worries that have been lingering for months.

The same season that restores the heart also creates a pattern of harm that doctors, nurses and assistant medical officers recognise well. Accident numbers rise during festive seasons, especially with long-distance travel, fatigue and wet roads, conditions that Sabah families know well.

Inside the home, the risks are less visible but no less real. Christmas tables in Sabah are generous, with food prepared in abundance and served across long hours as guests come and go. While the sharing of meals brings warmth and connection, repeated intake of rich food, late nights and disrupted routines can quietly strain the body. Blood pressure and blood glucose still rise even when the day feels special, and medication skipped for convenience or side effects can turn a vulnerable condition into an emergency.

Hospitals often see more cases of chest pain, breathlessness and dangerously high blood pressure after long festive weekends, not because of one meal, but because small disruptions accumulate over several days.

Food safety also becomes a quiet but significant issue. Ministry of Health Malaysia data show that food poisoning episodes rose from 392 in 2022 to 496 in 2023, with many linked to homes. Celebrations often involve bulk cooking, dishes left at room temperature as guests come in waves and leftovers that are reheated several times. Children, older adults and those living with chronic illness can deteriorate faster because dehydration sets in quickly and infection becomes harder to control.

Fireworks bring excitement but also a clear pattern of harm. In October 2024, Marine Police seized over RM1 million worth of illegal fireworks in Kota Kinabalu, a reminder that powerful pyrotechnics continue to enter our communities. The risk is not theoretical. It sits inside homes every festive season. Hands, eyes and hearing are especially vulnerable when fireworks are used close to homes without proper supervision.

Sabah Fire and Rescue officers have also noted more house fires during festive seasons, often linked to electrical overload or unattended cooking, and they continue to remind the public that both fires and road accidents tend to increase when celebrations begin.

Respiratory infections spread easily when families gather in crowded, poorly ventilated rooms. Influenza, the common cold and COVID-19 move quickly when people sing, talk and share food for hours. December and January fall within the period when these viruses circulate more intensely. For healthy adults, symptoms may be mild. For older adults, pregnant women and those with lung or heart disease, the same infection may require hospitalization.

Mental health during the festive season carries its own weight. Christmas is joyful for many, but for others it brings stress and quiet sadness. In Sabah, families sometimes stretch finances to host gatherings so their children do not feel left out. People grieving a recent loss may find the empty chair at the table heavier than expected. Those who cannot travel home may watch others celebrate online while sitting alone in a rented room. Persistent stress raises blood pressure, disturbs sleep, weakens immunity and pushes some toward unhealthy coping behaviors such as drinking, smoking or overeating.

This does not mean celebration is dangerous, rather, it is the way many people change their habits once the year reaches its final weeks. We convince ourselves it is “only once a year,” that medication can be restarted in January, that one more drink or one more drive will not matter. Hospitals see the combined outcome of thousands of these decisions across the state.

Protecting a Sabahan Christmas does not require perfection. People with chronic illness can speak to their doctors early in December to ensure they have enough medication for travel. Families can balance meals with fruits, vegetables and water. Leftovers can be cooled and reheated safely. Fireworks can be supervised. Those attending open houses where alcohol is served should plan their ride home early because driving after drinking remains one of the most preventable causes of festive tragedies.

Communities and the authorities carry responsibility too. PDRM’s Ops Selamat enforcement has shown reductions in fatal crashes in some festive seasons, even though total accidents remain high. Public transport must be reliable, so families are not forced to drive when exhausted. Health promotion should respect the emotional meaning of celebration while offering practical steps to stay safe.

A Sabahan Christmas holds many things at once. The sound of carols in church, the warmth of kitchens filled with activity and the sight of older parents waiting at the door for children who finally come home are part of what makes Christmas cherished in Sabah. The same season also carries the quiet ring of an ambulance at midnight, the strain felt in emergency teams and the worry of doctors who see these patterns return every year. The health of this season rests not on a single decision but on hundreds of small choices made over many days.

If we carry the same care that we show in the kitchen into the way we eat, drive, rest, store food and take our medicines, then the story of a Sabahan Christmas can remain one of joy, excess and risk but with fewer regrets when January arrives. The goal is not a perfect celebration. The goal is to have enough strength to return to the table year after year with the people we love.

Footnote

Melvin Ebin Bondi is a PhD candidate in Public Health at Universiti Malaysia Sabah. He writes a weekly public health column for The Borneo Post.
His views are not necessarily the views of The Borneo Post.