The time between Christmas and New Year has always been a bit of a strange one. In the past I travelled a lot to see family and friends and got caught up in the tradition of the Boxing Day sales, but both those activities are much depleted now for diverse reasons – so I find myself with a lot of time on my hands; a commodity which is usually somewhat rare. Inevitably my mind starts to race with thoughts about the year ahead. Now in the past I have reflected on the strength and challenge of coming up with New Year resolutions, but it seems a bit different this coming year, 2025.

One of the reasons for that sense of difference is that I have discovered that 2025 has been declared as a Year of Jubilee by the Roman Catholic Church. I have to confess that I knew little about the concept of ‘jubilee’ other than a faint memory that it had to do with poverty, and an even fainter memory of days off school for the Queens Jubilee in 1977!

I have discovered that the concept of Jubilee is a very ancient one, particularly within religious, economic, and social traditions. Its origins lie in ancient societies, most notably in the Hebrew Bible, where it was codified as a radical vision of social justice, restoration, and renewal. Over time, the idea of Jubilee has been reinterpreted and adapted by various movements to address inequality, debt, and oppression.

The term ‘jubilee’ derives from the Hebrew word yovel, meaning a ram’s horn, which was sounded to announce the year of Jubilee. The Jubilee Year occurred every 50th year, following seven cycles of seven years (the Sabbath years). It was a year which was marked by the requirement for a community and people (especially a predominantly agricultural one) to release burdens, redistribute resources, and create opportunities for those marginalised by systems of inequality. The ancient practice was quite radical with for instance people who had sold themselves into servitude due to debt being freed; land was returned to its original owners to prevent perpetual inequality and environmentally no or limited agricultural work was done during the Jubilee year, allowing the land to rest and regenerate.

The concept of Jubilee changed down through history with a much more spiritual interpretation within Christianity, with a particular focus on charity and forgiveness.  By the medieval period the Year of Jubilee became associated with an opportunity to buy your forgiveness. Later, the Catholic Church used Jubilee years to address crises, such as wars or famines, blending the original themes of renewal with ecclesiastical goals.

More modern interpretations of Jubilee have developed the concept into a broader metaphor for societal transformation and justice, including the Jubilee 2000 Campaign which advocated for the cancellation of unpayable debts in developing countries.

The Catholic Church has declared 2025 as a Holy Year of Jubilee (or Anno Santo), following its tradition of celebrating a Jubilee every 25 years. This marks a year of spiritual renewal, forgiveness, and reconciliation, encouraging pilgrims to seek grace and engage in acts of faith and charity.

Pope Francis has announced that the theme for the 2025 Jubilee will be “Pilgrims of Hope”, emphasising hope, healing, and the rebuilding of communities and on Christmas Eve he inaugurated the Year by throwing open the Holy Door of St Peter’s Basilica in Rome.

With all this focus on jubilee I have begun to consider what this might mean for social care in Scotland and so instead of a set of resolutions I would like us to consider how we can use the next year to reimagine the social care sector to prioritise equity, dignity and community. I suspect all three contain the essence of what social care is and is meant to be.

A social care Year of Jubilee could emphasise the critical importance of not just talking about how we value workers but actually doing something about it as a government and society. Celebrating that someone is paid the Living Wage is a start but should never be the destination of our ambition. So let us properly fund and introduce fair working conditions, adequate pay that values professionalism, and opportunities for real respite for workers who are tired and simply exhausted, burdened by mental health fatigue and stress. Let us allocate and prioritise the critical role that respite provides for those who are unpaid and family carers.

A social care Year of Jubilee should lead to the necessary re-distribution of resources and societal wealth. We need to finally recognise social care as an economic asset and driver rather than a drain and deficit; to value those who receive care and support as equal citizens, whose contribution is as critically important as that of any other, and whose voice needs to be finally heard. So let us advocate for equitable funding for social care across Scotland, ensuring no community is left behind, and re-balance both fiscal and societal prioritisation of the NHS, by enhancing our shared understanding of the critical role of social care. And in this year let us prioritise investment in neglected areas, including rural communities and underfunded care providers, to address historic inequities. It is a simple nonsense that we do not see social care as a community asset worthy of economic investment.

A social care Year of Jubilee can also serve to reflect the ancient practice of freeing of slaves and the forgiveness of debts, with a symbolic and practical liberation from systemic oppression. For social care, this translates into dismantling barriers that prevent people from accessing the support they need. The whole system of charging for care and modelling the true cost of care needs to be radically overhauled in Scotland. Failure to recognise that we are currently not paying the true cost of care as a society by placing that burden on individuals needs to be challenged once and for all. This is also profoundly the case for unpaid carers who carry a disproportionate burden and for whom we need as a society to offer better financial, practical, and emotional support.

And a personal wish from me is that we recognise the tradition of Jubilee was one that focused on the restoration of human dignity and relationships. So, a Year of Jubilee for social care in Scotland should be enshrined in a clear human rights paradigm – which means a refreshed and re-introduced Human Rights Bill. But it also means that we embed human rights as the foundation of social care, ensuring every individual is treated with dignity and respect. It means that we create co-designed care and support systems and models where the voices of those receiving care and those providing it are central to decision-making. None of this can happen in a fiscal vacuum without focus and investment.

And my final Jubilee for Social Care wish for 2025 is that we give especial focus to approaches and models that seek to restore and rebuild community. I have in previous recent blogs argued about how we need to re-design the way in which we deliver care and support in rural and remote communities, and the need to re-imagine aged care in residential and nursing environments.

In 2025, social care can lead the way in reconnecting communities fractured by inequality and isolation. It can seek to do so – again with political and fiscal investment – by strengthening community-based care models that prioritise connection and inclusion, reducing loneliness and isolation. It can continue to celebrate and support intergenerational initiatives, where care and support becomes a shared community responsibility, fostering understanding and solidarity.

Just as the ancient religious and economic concept of Jubilee represented a radical shift in how people viewed justice, relationships, and resources, we must approach social care in Scotland with the same transformative spirit. 2025 can be the year we move into a future where social care reflects the values of restoration, fairness, and shared humanity.

Here’s to a year of progress, compassion, and justice for social care in Scotland; a Year of Social Care Jubilee.

Such a vision is encapsulated with the last poem I leave you with for 2024, the wonderful Burning the Old Year by Naomi Shihab Nye.

 

Letters swallow themselves in seconds.

Notes friends tied to the doorknob,

transparent scarlet paper,

sizzle like moth wings,

marry the air.

 

So much of any year is flammable,

lists of vegetables, partial poems.

Orange swirling flame of days,

so little is a stone.

 

Where there was something and suddenly isn’t,

an absence shouts, celebrates, leaves a space.

I begin again with the smallest numbers.

 

Quick dance, shuffle of losses and leaves,

only the things I didn’t do

crackle after the blazing dies.

 

Naomi Shihab Nye, “Burning the Old Year” from Words Under the Words: Selected Poems. Copyright © 1995 by Naomi Shihab Nye.

Donald Macaskill

 

Photo by engin akyurt on Unsplash