You step onto a private beach at Christmas and you tell yourself it is only sand and water, that no one will mind. But the law is plain and the idea is simple. Private means someone has the right to say yes or no. When you go in without leave, you take that choice away. It is trespass. You may mean no harm, you may leave no trash, you may stay a short while, but you still cross a line that is not yours to cross. If you want your own place left alone during the holidays, you owe that same restraint to others.
Christmas also changes the facts on the ground. More people come. More cars. More noise. The risks go up. Many private stretches do not have lifeguards, signs, maintained paths, or a ready way for rescue to reach you. What seems like a quick swim can become an injury, a call for help, and a burden on local services that are already working hard. There is also the land itself. Dunes break. Nesting areas get trampled. Access tracks erode when too many feet press them. Damage at the shore is easy to make and hard to undo.
And there is fairness. Public beaches are there for everyone, paid for and managed for that purpose. When you choose the private shore because it is quieter, you push the costs onto someone who did not agree to host you. They clean it. They repair it. They worry about what happens if someone gets hurt. Christmas is a season people like to speak about goodwill. Goodwill is not taking what is not yours. It is using the public way, and leaving the private one alone.
To everyone reading, I wish you a Merry Christmas and a quiet, decent holiday. May your days be warm, your company kind, and your pleasures honest. Take the public path, mind your neighbor’s door, and let the coast be enjoyed without taking liberties.
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