Christmas in Bermuda is an especially festive time of year -- not only because of the religious holiday, but because of time spent with family and friends.

But more than 400 inmates at Westgate, the Prison Farm and the Co-ed Facility will be spending Christmas surrounded by other prisoners -- yet essentially alone.

The Royal Gazette interviewed two inmates and a former inmate about the emotional impact of being locked up during the holidays. The former inmate is a 36-year-old married man with children who spent eight-and-a-half years in prison for drug-related offences. And for him, the holiday season was a time when he was forced to remember that his family was growing up and celebrating without him.

"Most guys dreaded Christmas Day for the simple fact that during the Christmas period you saw less of your family members that any other time of the year,'' he stated.

"A lot of guys don't look forward to Christmas except to say `this one's over, now I've got two left' -- it's like a marking put on the calendar.

"The first and second year are basically the hardest part to overcome -- from there on, it becomes bearable only in the sense that the emotional side gets numbed.

"At the same time, it never gets any easier when you think about the positive changes your child has made from one Christmas to the next and you have had no part in it -- especially if your child cannot recollect having a Christmas with you.

"It's really a stressful time for everyone, including the officers -- tempers flare up and instead of it being a happy or joyous occasion, it can turn out to be heart-rending,'' he added.

He noted that as difficult as it was to spend Christmas in prison, the emotional impact was equally bad for the families -- and especially the children -- of inmates.

"I've seen a few tears shed by big men -- and some of the guys after a visit simply don't want to speak to anyone,'' he said.

"They go into the room and close the door, while wives and girlfriends and children go back home to an empty house.

"There was a deep feeling, a general consensus, that no matter what crime we committed, it simply was not worth the pain and injury expressed on our children's faces.

"I remember one Christmas when the weather was particularly bad because of the rain, and guys felt they weren't missing out on anything because everyone was stuck in a building.

"But more often than not, Christmas was sunny and dismal -- what a contrast.

"The bottom line is that Christmas in prison is a very depressing time of year -- and no matter how bright it may be outside, it's dark behind the wall.'' But he praised the various religious and volunteer organisations that visited the facility during the holidays, noting: "At Christmas, you get a real appreciation for the deeper meaning of Christmas because your blessings become more tangible than for a person who has not been incarcerated.'' Another man in his mid-20s has been incarcerated at Westgate for three years -- and has another eight years to serve on his prison term.

As a Muslim, Christmas Day does not hold the same meaning for him as for a Christian -- but he remembers his first holiday season spent in maximum security as being the hardest.

"When I first came in, I was a troublemaker -- I was angry and a serious offender. Over in maximum security, there's no real outlet and that made me angrier,'' he said. "And for guys in maximum security, it kinda hurts to see your family through the glass on Christmas Day.

"I was over there for Christmas and it was more hurtful for my family members to see me behind the glass than it was for me,'' he added.

"But sometimes just to get a hug or a kiss really means a lot at this time of the year -- there's hurt on both sides, for the family and the inmate.'' He said there were positive aspects to the holiday, and mentioned that inmates get four visits instead of three during the month of December to accommodate visiting family members.

And he encouraged organisations such as Salvation Army and the ministries, stating: "Any outside interest helps.'' He said many inmates -- especially those with long sentences -- tried not to think about time passing from season to season and so downplayed the holidays in their own minds.

"I don't even want to see a calendar -- 24 hours is 24 hours to me -- but I try to be positive all year around,'' he said.

"It's hard not to get swept up in the mood -- but this year I've been thinking about how I wanted to be able to celebrate my cousin Angela's wedding (during the holiday) and couldn't,'' he added. A 28-year-old mother-of-three had a positive outlook on the holiday season -- as a recovering addict who did not complete high school, she was using her time at the Co-ed Facility to put her life in order. "I haven't celebrated Christmas for years, so for my children it's just another day,'' she said.

"I'm glad I'm here, because I don't know where I would've been today if I'd been on the street -- at least my children know I'm here getting better,'' she added.

She said that although she does not celebrate Christmas, the programmes set up by the facility during the holiday season helped break up the monotony of the jail routine.

"(Visiting religious organisations) remind inmates that it's a spiritual holiday instead of a commercial holiday -- they make your vision a little clearer and showed me another way of thinking, that God works in all ways,'' she noted.