WANT to know all about Christmas in the Philippines amid bonus tussle for the holidays?

The Sun.Star Network Exchange, which manages the Sun.Star website, has launched Krismas sa Pinas, a special Christmas feature to bring you the latest news, feature stories, and opinion on the country's celebration of the yuletide season.

You can cringe all night from December's cold, or sip in the warmth from our freshly brewed specials.

Read all about Baguio's yuletide revelries, pre or post, the magic won't differ. Learn about the newly acclaimed Christmas capital of Western Visayas.

Pototan, a municipality in the Province of Iloilo, noted for its "vast tracts of flat land planted with rice, and with its artfully-renovated plaza and newly installed dancing fountain, municipal hall, edifices and the Poblacion streets, meticulously adorned with attractive and colorful lights once again, mesmerize and bring joy to visitors."

Get to know the 400 Pangasinan employees whose strong determination keeps them alive, even if they only have until Christmas to enjoy their jobs at the Provincial Government.

Or you can weep for the elegance of Cebu's Christmas Classic Concert, with the venue "exquisitely attuned to acoustical perfection, it truly is a "must" for enjoying to the max the musical artistry of Vivaldi, Mozart, Handel, among others."

These and more, are accounted for with merry details in a click of a button. Krismas sa Pinas also welcomes any Christmas experience you would like to share with us. We'd be glad to post it in the website so we can also share the Yuletide treat with others. Hurry before the season frost melts

Log on to www.sunstar.com.ph and click on to the Krismas sa Pinas button, or you can go directly to www.sunstar.com.ph/specials/krismas/index.html. Our e-mail address is at Sunnex@Sunstar.com.ph. We look forward to hearing from you.

[ h o m e ] [ t o p ]

December 28, 2001
Opinion
Christmas is Christfulness
By Atty. Fritz V. Quiñanola

IT is noteworthy that the law is one of the professions which requires an oath for admission into the practice. The taking of the attorney's oath is a solemn matter, and rightly so, for it stamps the lawyer as an officer of the court, with great rights and equally great responsibilities.

The general principles which should ever control the lawyer in the practice of his profession are fully and clearly set forth in the attorney's oath. The non-observance of the oath brands the attorney as unworthy to practice a noble profession.

Significantly enough, the applicant for admission to the bar takes and subscribes his oath in open court, solemnly climaxing it with "so help me God," evidently as an open confirmation on the part of the new lawyer that he absolutely needs the help and assistance of the Lord to safeguard him against the aberrations and deviations from his attorney's oath.

This is because there is, perhaps, no profession, after that of the sacred ministry in which a high-toned morality is more imperatively necessary than that of law. There is certainly, without exception, no profession in which so many temptations beset the path to swerve from the line of strict integrity, in which so many delicate and difficult questions of duty are continually arising, a state and situation that bids a judicious lawyer to pray for divine aid to solve such predicaments.

A peacemaker that he ought to be ethically so, an attorney, instead of stirring up litigation, it should be his professional aim to avoid legal controversies, and to settle peacefully all causes which can justly be terminated.

A prudent attorney is not one who is continually bursting into court, but is the one who advises his clients how to avoid legal danger, and who goes to the farthest ends compatible with the interest of his clients to effect a compromise.

Indeed, God-Jesus, mandatorily implored by lawyers when they recited their oath ushering them into the practice of law, emerges once again in the legal scenario with all the peace-infused exuberance when faith-conscious members of the law profession pause, during the holiday season, to meditate on the meaning and relevance of the angelic message, "Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace among men of goodwill."

As the birth of Christ Jesus in the manger epitomizes not only humility but also charity or neighborly love, a no-nonsense lawyer would be prone to remember or realize, that one of his works of mercy is to never to reject, for any consideration personal to himself, the cause of the defenseless or oppressed.

The oath-bound member of the legal profession would have every reason to greet and hail the Savior's birth with all the joy, cheer and euphoria at his command for he feels that Christmas is Christfulness exalting the best of fraternal charity and neighborly love.

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (1869-1948), nationalist leader of India and London-schooled lawyer, although he died as he had lived a staunch Buddhist, appreciated the beauty of Christianity, and often gave it as his belief that Christianity could play an important role in the uplifting of India.

Gandhi also made some pointed suggestions for Christians which would make their work more easy, to wit:

"First, I would suggest that all you Christians-missionaries and all-should begin to live more than Christ.

"Second, I would suggest that you practice your religion without adulterating or toning it down.

"Third, you shall make love central in your lives, for love is central in Christianity."

Indeed, a no-nonsense lawyer would be hailing and exalting Christ Jesus, whom he involves as a guardian of his attorney's oath, when he, the lawyer, would not refuse to show his overt love to the least of his brethren by never rejecting the cause of the defenseless, distressed or oppressed.

With mankind bewildered by conflicting ideologies and an opposing way of life, the members of the noble law profession, in concert with their faith-conscious fellowmen, should do well to bend their knees before the Heavenly Infant lying in the manger to recapture the meaning and essence of that paramount line of angelic message, "On earth peace among men of goodwill." In terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis.

Q-Quote. Entering the cave, Mary and Joseph prepared to remain there for the night. It was during that night, and in that humble stable, the Son of God was born into the world. This was the very first Christmas. In this way, the Son of God was made man. Only lowly animals helped to warm the discomfort of the cave. For love of us, Jesus wanted to be born in a humble place. He shows us how he loves humility. (Taken from the book, Jewels of the Spirit).

Nota Bene. The Integrated Bar of the Philippines Cebu City chapter greets everyone a Merry Christmas!

Legal Humor. Municipal judge: "You have always been appearing before me in this court for seven years." Swindler: "Why judge, is it my fault if you never get promoted? (Contributed by Atty. Kit Enriquez).

For comments, this writer can be reached at email: fritzquinanola@hotmail.com

[ h o m e ] [ t o p ]

December 28, 2001
FEATURE
Bonifide Christmas Classics

HOLIDAY movies-which, of course, means Christmas movies, because who can think of even one film centered around Hanukkah-are seasonal rites as reliable as mistletoe and crass commercialism.

But don't go thinking all Yule flicks are sugarplums and spice. Truth is, they run the gamut from heartwarming epics to wry cartoons to twisted tales of naughty, vengeful little dears who didn't exactly get what they wanted from Mr. and Mrs. Claus. Not to mention a big stocking full o' songs.

Here are the 10 best holiday rents of all time. So, break out the eggnog and enjoy...

10. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
Year: 1989
Cast: Chevy Chase, Beverly D'Angelo, Randy Quaid, Diane Ladd, John Randolph, E.G. Marshall, Doris Roberts, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Mae Quesel, William Hickey, Brian Doyle-Murray, Juliette Lewis

The hapless Griswold family is back and ready to celebrate Christmas by wreaking more comic havoc along the way than you'll find anywhere this side of the North Pole. Wide-eyed and relentlessly daft Chase wants to host a big family holiday gathering at Casa Griswold. Out go the invitations, and in comes a very funny assemblage of freaky relatives. And what would the holiest day of the year be without a last-minute (uninvited) appearance by cousin Ed (Quaid) and his hillbilly tribe?

The slapstick is so fast and furious you hardly have time to reach for a popcorn ball without missing some set piece like a dog/squirrel chase through the house, Hickey setting fire to the tree or Chase careening down a snowslope on a sled that's been lubed with cooking oil. Vacation is a laugh riot from start to finish. Yule crack up!

9. White Christmas
Year: 1954
Cast: Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, Vera-Ellen, Dean Jagger

This is a great family fare, with "The Groaner" crooning the title tune and other melodies by Irving Berlin. The flimsy plot (what musical doesn't have one?) deals with war buddies and nightclub entertainers ("Der Bingle" and Kaye) giving a benefit to keep their former colonel's ailing ski resort out of hock.

It's a loose remake of Holiday Inn, which starred Crosby and Fred Astaire in 1942 and actually introduced the song "White Christmas." This time out, Clooney (hunky George's aunt) provides the nice romantic foil for Crosby and shows her stellar vocal cords ("Sisters," "Count Your Blessings"). And her singing chops are needed to counterbalance the frantic mugging of Kaye, who's way over the top-but in a good way. He shines brightest in a couple of patter numbers where he's at his campy best. The guy was born to play an elf!

8. Black Christmas
Year: 1974
Cast: Olivia Hussey, Margot Kidder, Andrea Martin, Keir Dullea, John Saxon

This silent night/deadly night, low-budget slasher pic has about as much scary edge as the blunt runner of Santa's sleigh. But what it lacks in chills, it makes up for in humor-some of it even intentional. And for a real kicker, check out mousy Martin, menaced in the kind of role she'd mercilessly burlesque a few years later as part of SCTV. Good fun.

7. A Charlie Brown Christmas
Year: 1965
Cast: Peter Robbins, Tracy Stratford, Christopher Shea

Sometimes the small presents are the most precious, and that's certainly the case here. The cartoon world's favorite nebbish, Charlie Brown, searches for the true meaning of Christmas and comes up blank-until Linus takes center stage and wises him up.

This animated marvel from the redoubtable pen of Charles Schulz isn't flashy, but it gets the job done with humor and an engaging storyline. The whole Peanuts crew is on hand-including Snoopy, the hippest pup in history.

6. A Christmas Carol
Year: 1951
Cast: Alastair Sim, Kathleen Harrison, Mervyn Johns, Hermione Baddeley, Jack Warner

Scary Christmas? Gotcha covered with this harrowing, heartwarming, veddy British version of Charles Dickens' original "All About Eve"-Christmas Eve, that is. Sim is brilliant as Brit Lit's most venal tightwad, Ebenezer Scrooge, who gets a new lease on life thanks to unpaid overtime by three spirits on Christmas Eve.

The best thing about this Christmas Carol, which makes pale ghosts of all the other versions, is that the effects never overwhelm the story's simple message and moral.

5. The Nightmare Before Christmas
Year: 1993
Cast: Danny Elfman, Chris Sarandon, Catherine O'Hara, Paul Reubens

What else but the ghoulish and fevered imagination of Tim Burton would concoct a story about the dark denizens of Halloween Town taking over Christmas as their own personal holiday? This creepy Claymation fantasia is a marvel from beginning to end. Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King, becomes obsessed with Christmas and kidnaps Santa, hoping to step in for him on the Big Night.
What Jack fails to calculate is that his earnest, but spooky, approach doesn't quite mesh with the spirit of the season.

4. A Christmas Story
Year: 1983
Cast: Peter Billingsley, Darren McGavin, Melinda Dillon, Ian Petrella, Scott Schwartz, Tedde Moore

Think back. When you were a kid, did you ever covet a particular Christmas present so desperately that your obsession became a clinical mania? Welcome to Jean Shepherd's hilarious childhood memoir of one particular Christmas-and one particular gift as elusive as it is desirable: the Red Ryder BB Gun.

Set in late-1940s Indiana, the story has the period down pat. Slice o' life riffs of playground bullies getting their comeuppance intersect wonderfully with scenes of McGavin's profane family man cursing out the antiquated heating system.

Billingsley is right-on as the roly-poly young boy, and Dillon is the kind of all-American mom everyone wishes they had. An added bonus is Shepherd narrating the tale in an expressive voice that seems tailor-made for the books-on-tape business.

3. How the Grinch Stole Christmas!
Year: 1966 BC (Before Carrey)
Narration: Boris Karloff

This sly take from the pixieish mind of Dr. Seuss is packed with whimsy and swimming with sentiment. (We refer, of course, to the animated classic, before Ace Ventura got his furry green mitts on it.)

In the tiny half-hour gem, the cantankerous holiday-hating Grinch (who lives just north of Whoville) tries to put a stop to Christmas by stealing every gift, tree and roast beast in town. But just as he's ready to dump the stash from the top of Mount Crumpet, he has second thoughts. He's a mean one, this Mr. Grinch, but he does the right thing in the end. And, goshdarnit, isn't that what the holiday spirit is all about?

2. It's a Wonderful Life
Year: 1946
Cast: Jimmy Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, Thomas Mitchell

Hark, the herald angel swims! And pretty well, too, when Guardian Angel Clarence tricks "jumper" George Bailey into fishing him out of Bedford Falls River on Christmas Eve. Stewart, in his own favorite film role, turns in a tour-de-force performance as building-and-loan man Bailey, who'd like to shake the dust of crummy little Bedford Falls from his shoes and see the world.

This heartwarming and cherished "what if" tale of personal sacrifice and the redemptive power of friendship didn't go over too well with post-WWII audiences, who had already sacrificed plenty when the movie was first released. Ironically, the movie finally "got its wings" after years of TV broadcasts, due largely to the fact that it wasn't owned by any studio and came into the public domain quickly. Local stations across the U.S. had free access and aired it over and over and over. Clearly, it took.

1. Miracle on 34th Street
Year: 1947
Cast: Maureen O'Hara, John Payne, Natalie Wood, Edmund Gwenn, Gene Lockhart

You want a super Santa? You can't do better than Gwenn, who set the standard for all future Kris Kringles and won an Oscar for this portrayal. But there are other gifts here as well, veritable stocking stuffers: precious small performances by comedy vets like Thelma Ritter and Jack Albertson.

But it's seven-year-old Wood who steals the show. Seems li'l Nat has a tough time believing in Santa Claus after all the brainwashing she's received from naysaying mom O'Hara. No matter, she's precocious and cute as a bug's ear and finally comes around to believing all the poppycock. Another big surprise is character actor Payne, who turns in the best performance of his career as Wood's adult buddy, who also has eyes for her mom.

The "miracle" on 34th Street refers to those tightfisted titans of Midtown retail, Messrs Gimbel and Macy, who become imbued with the spirit of giving. Only in the movies! (From the wires)

[ h o m e ] [ t o p ]

Teaching children to give

CEBU -- How would you like something different this year? Something of value, yet need not be costly? Does that sound better now? Then you're ready for this.

The focus, as always, are your kids but with a difference:

Create gifts. When we say Christmas we immediately connect it with what's new or "in" and what's impressive. Our emphasis is on traditional gifts. With a little imagination there's a world of other gifts to give.

Use Christmas as an opportunity to let your child see that a gift that comes with time, care and love becomes a treasure.

Spend an afternoon or evening talking about gifts. He may talk about the gift he would like to own, but guide him into making his personal list of gifts for others. Say, "Maybe your Tita would like to receive your beautiful angel drawing, the one she liked so much. To make it special, let's have it framed."

Plan to give. Help your child take the role of Santa. Bake cookies with your kid and wrap the items together to give to friends and relatives. Your child may also break open the piggy bank to buy small presents for the family.

Remember the less fortunate. Early on, teach children to think of others. This is a good way for them to avoid being too focused on themselves. You want caring grown ups? Start them young.

Charity visit. This is a good time to cultivate social consciousness - minus the preaching. Drop by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) or SOS or House of Hope, or any charity that you know.

Call beforehand to ask how many wards they have. Take along simple presents (e.g. guest size soap) or cards or food for all (e.g. a dish of pancit) or just talk to the people or even sing Christmas carols.

Play the game one-for-me-one-for-you. Make this a family tradition. Whenever your child adds something to his own wish list, have him also think of a gift for someone less fortunate. Then help him find it, make it, give it.

Be part of a holiday project. If your company or community has a Christmas drive for toys and used clothes to give to needy children, let your child participate. Encourage your child to decorate the gift in his own way. (Adapted from Family Circle)

[ h o m e ] [ t o p ]

"Why does it always have to be last-minute Christmas shopping?"
By Leticia Suarez-Orendain

CEBU -- To prepare for this in-depth feature on "The Rush" or last-minute shopping, I enrolled in a MBA (Masters in Bargaining Ability).

I had courses such as Merchandising Analysis (i.e. how to tell if buy-one-take-one is a rip-off), Business Ethics (i.e. not to over-take someone at the checkout counter), and Finance Management (i.e. how to find bargains even when there is no sale).

In Classic Reports In Social Interaction and Shopping (Crisis), students were required to submit a paper on The Rush.

Here are some nuggets of wisdom on last minute shopping from my MBA class.

The Rush is only for experts.

Bring your sense of humor especially at the checkout counter. The cashier often moves like she swallowed a double-dose sedative.

You can assess your youthfulness with The Rush. If you can dash from one department to another and make it to the check-out counter 10 seconds before closing time without gasping for air - you still have it.

You will see your life pass before your eyes. Oh, all those missed sales or better choices when stocks were still plentiful.

It's an equalizer. No fame, no fortune can change your status as shopper number 13 at the check out.

Remember to go on a full stomach of, preferably, antacids.

There's a good side to last minute shopping. It clears your mind, so you end up only with the basics. In MBA we call it cost-cutting.

The Rush separates the mice from the men.

You want excitement? Try last minute shopping.

You want panic? Try last minute shopping.

You want danger? You won't find it in last minute shopping. Outside is where danger lurks.

[ h o m e ] [ t o p ]

How to Survive the Holidays

CEBU -- Avoid last-minute shopping! Prepare for changeable weather. Colds and flu will play the killjoys once again, so shore up your immune system; eat well and get plenty of rest.

Drink plenty of water and, well, Vitamin C may help reduce the duration and severity of colds if you have them already, achoo!

De-stress. Tap into relaxation techniques such as "guided imagery." Close your eyes and imagine yourself drifting on cotton-candy clouds.
Taking this type of mini-time-out is like taking a mini-vacation right where you are - minus the expenses.

Eat sensibly. I know, I know, food will be hard to refuse but think of where the excess will go.

[ h o m e ] [ t o p ]

Images of Christmases Past
By Juan L. Mercado

That season comes wherein our Savior's birth
is celebrated/...

The Bird of dawning singeth all night long/

So hallow'd and so gracious is the
Time. --- Hamlet

THE grime-streaked beggar at the Redemptorist Church door wouldn't budge.

Misa de Gallo had just ended. If delayed, I'd miss that overbooked Bangkok flight. As a refugee from martial law, Thailand was our United Nations station for 17 years. Five kids were flying in then from US schools for Christmas.

Shifting a battered tin can, the beggar persisted. "Don't you remember me?" he asked. Seeing the blank look in my eyes, he hastened to add: "We were classmates in elementary school. I'm Candido..."

Memory scraped away the wrinkles, dirt and in-between years. Indeed, we had played patintero and other games of childhood. We built model airplanes and swam together.

Today? Tiene cara de hambre. "You have the face of hunger," the orphan-boy, in the film classic "Marcelino, Pan y Vino," tells the Crucified.

We managed snatches of conversation. Airline schedules are unyielding. Couldn't have given more that what was hurriedly fished from a pocket? I asked myself as an immigration officer waved us on.

We're all invited to journey to Bethlehem, including those who claim P500 billion in assets. But most limp there dragging wearily their tin cans. Far too few have frugal but adequate means.

Yet, Christmas "is the only time I know of when men and women, seem by one consent, to open up their shut-up hearts freely," Charles Dickens wrote in 1843.

Like the re-engineered Scrooge, they "think of people below then, as not another race of creature, bound on other journeys, but as fellow passengers to the grave," adds the author of "A Christmas Carol".

I've never seen my beggar friend again. But he forms part of our images of Christmases past - a mosaic of 40 years of UN posting and journalism wandering: New York, Kuala Lumpur, Beijing. Here are some for this "hallowed and gracious time".

ROME: Overseas workers crammed the Spartan Verbiti conference room, now decked with belen, star lanterns and lunch table, topped with lechon.

It was authentic, including the Filipino carols. But so were the corrosive loneliness and drip-water torture of separation, contorting faces of many. Tiene cara de hambre.

Here was a glimpse into the economic diaspora's hidden costs. The Scalabrini Migration Center observes that beyond the $5.7 billion in remittances fester families shattered by infidelities, renovated homes haunted by misguided children, rising number of suicides, etc.

Christmas, SVD Filipino fathers told the OFWs, is the "Emmanuel" - God with us in pain, loneliness, even despair. "There are no more unvisited places in our lives."

JAKARTA: Expats are often shattered by illness in the family. So, we trudged to the Christmas crib at Gereja Theresia (St. Therese's Church). Half a world, alone in a Los Angeles ICU room, an economic diaspora statistic - my younger brother - was dying.

Months earlier, he phoned. Life is fragile, he said. We don't know when we'll see each other again. Let's meet in Cebu with our 83-year-old mother.

A sister came from Toronto. We had a laughter-filled week.

The Child of Bethlehem enables us to see beyond the grave. "Death is not extinguishing of life," Tagore once wrote. "It is putting out the lamp because dawn has come."

BANGKOK. From our third floor flat, we watch this Thai lady slip, before sunrise, into the deserted Holy Redeemer churchyard. She prays before a picture of Our Lady of Perpetual help, affixed to this Thai-style church façade.

Draped in the Advent dawn's soft darkness, she was a deeply moving silhouette. "The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, " Isaiah wrote. "Kings shall (stream) to the brightness of thy rising."

MUNTINLUPA. The prisoner at the visiting room wouldn't bridge. We were dashing to a Christmas dinner.

Shifting his bright prison garb, he asked: "Don't you remember me?" Seeing the blank look in my eyes, he added: "We were playmates in Cebu. I'm Policarpio..."

There is, we're told, a "geography of the heart." Like the Magi, we travel its byways, not merely from place to place, but also from grace to grace.

It's a search for what endures, amid the transient. Without fail, we find it in those with cara de hambre.

"And they found the Child, with Mary his mother," the story goes.

Venite adoremus.

[ h o m e ] [ t o p ]

The biggest hoax of Christendom
By Inocentes A. Gulle, Sr.

Two of the major religions, Judaism and Christian, have the bible as the basis of their faith - the source of truth. The former from the Law and the Prophets; the latter have them and the later addition, the New Testament. Israel is the only state that practice Judaism as its national religion.

Christianity is the religion of most other countries of the world. Christianity, however, has been divided into so many different sects that some cannot even see eye-to-eye with others. Two major divisions are Catholicism and Protestantism, the former being much bigger and also divided into two major divisions - the Eastern Orthodoxy and the most dominant Roman Catholic Church.

Protestantism is an offshoot of the Roman Catholic Church. It started as a from of "protest" by its leaders (Luther, Swingly, Wycliff, etc.) of the practice of worship using representations of the divine in the form of images (idols?), and observance of "holy traditions" not anchored in biblical teaching. Most Protestant denominations, however, retain certain Roman Catholic practices (traditions) such as the observance of Sunday as its Sabbath, Lent, and Christmas - traditional beliefs without biblical foundation.

It being Christmas season, I shall confine my discussion on the subject. As most Christians now believe, December 25 is the birthday of Jesus the Christ. There is nothing in the bible, however, that says, or even hints, that Jesus was born on this date. On the other hand, side-plots of the event of Jesus birth, such as the visit of the shepherds and the time of census, hardly suggest that it was wintertime. It is therefore apparent that Christmas day as Jesus' birth date is but a human invention, for some purpose or reason.

What then could that reason be?

Some historians (of Christianity) say that December 25 was a very significant Roman feast day. Pagan Rome noted this day as the "(re)birth" of the sun...it died when it lost its warmth during the cold winter months...and on that date, it is re-born as it starts moving northward bringing its life-giving warmth back to the (dead) earth.

When Emperor Constantine allegedly decreed Christianity as the official religion of the whole Roman Empire, such sudden radical transition from the pagan practices to the very different (directly opposed) Christian doctrine, posed considerably traumatic problems.

Pagan Romans, loathe to let go of traditions observed by their ancestors for almost a thousand years, just to be suddenly replaced by a strange new one called Christianity, could not but balk. (Remember that the change was decreed [arbitrary], not by spiritual conversion.)

On the other hand, the early Christian fathers, perhaps weary of persecution and eager to gain strong foothold on the pagan psychology all-powerful Rome, found it convenient to dovetail such pagan traditions to certain biblical events...avoid head-on confrontation.

Thus, the Roman worship of the sun, on the first day of the week (Sunday), became the Christian "Lord's Day" day of worship, instead of biblical seventh-day Sabbath. The winter solstice, pagan Rome celebrated as the birth of the sun was designated as the birth date of Jesus.

Tradition also said this season (Yuletide) was formerly observed by pagan Europe as a season merry-making when no work could be done in the fields for the cold, where the yule log, a very large piece of wood was kept burning throughout, to keep the cold of winter away. During this season people did nothing but buy and sell and give gifts to enliven their lives during the drab winter days.

Christmas day, or Yuletide, therefore, is a pagan holiday designated by the early Christian Fathers, for convenience, as the Nativity date, and not the true date of Jesus birth. Not being stated in any of the Gospels, it cannot be taken as biblical truth and, therefore, false.

The Gospel authors obviously did not consider the date (of Jesus birth) important for the salvation of man, but the event of his birth and death (on this planet). After all, time is of no essence to the Divine...."Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever."

To celebrate it as a season of giving, merrymaking, respite from a year-round of rough and tumble livelihood struggle is quite alright. However, to celebrate it as a time of Jesus birth is to perpetuate a hoax, just as the Santa Claus hoax has been perpetuated these two thousand years.

In such a proposition, has Satan not succeeded in waylaying man away from the truth in order to promote his end of deception....that Christmastide has in effect become nothing but a time of pseudo-worship, time for business propositions, drunkenness, decadence, etc.?

How many bribery schemes have been consummated in the guise of gift-giving? How many crimes have been committed because some folks did not have the means or could not afford celebrating Christmas?

How many of our countrymen became mendicants (beggars) taking advantage of Christmas time?

Isn't the Devil laughing his head out at us, poor gullible creatures? I wonder.

[ h o m e ] [ t o p ]

A tragic Christmas
By Jenara Regis Newman

Sixty years ago on Dec. 16, Cebu, as well as other Visayan and Mindanao students studying in Manila filled the boat, the S.S. Corregidor, for their Christmas vacation. For these students, this vacation was different as it could turn out, as it did, to be a much longer vacation instead of a Christmas break.

Already, the Philippines was at war, with the Japanese attacking some of her northern provinces after their attack on Pearl Harbor.

In an article, Ret. Col. Manuel Segura wrote that Manila Bay was already filled with mines as early as August of that year. And most of the boats going in and out of Manila Bay had to be escorted by a military boat from Corregidor Island in order to pass through the mine field safely. But not this fateful night. The captain, who had been in and out of Manila for the previous months, decided to proceed without waiting for the escort. And then, shortly after midnight, wham! The boat had hit a mine and all hell broke loose within the ship.

Among the passengers was Adelaida Pages. This is her story:

I was studying in Philippine Women's College taking up P.E. I was still young and "innocent" in the manner of those days. Ignorante gyud. Innocente gyud kaayo. I had been booked in an airconditioned cabin along with my schoolmate Emma Pelaez, her brother Tristan and Delfin Teves, a friend of my brother. I had gone to bed with my PE uniform on.

The blast woke us up and Delfin was the first to get out of the boat. But when he went out the door, it slammed shut and would not open anymore. We were locked in! But the door had louvres and Tristan managed to break the slats and we managed to get out of the cabin and rushed to the upper deck where it was every man for himself. Tristan almost got shot by an American from whom he wanted to get his lifejacket for his sister and me. There were lifeboats but they were packed with people. By the time we got into one, the boat was sinking and we sank along with the boat.

I sank, and I felt someone was tugging at me. I thought it was Emma. I did not realize it was the boat's sinking that pulled me down. When the sinking stopped, I struck for the surface. There were no signs of Emma or Tristan. I saw a pillow and tried to grab that, but it would not do as a lifesaver. I saw a barrel and tried to get on it but it kept rolling. Then I saw a raft and clambered aboard. When the raft was filled, other survivors had to cling to its sides.

Soon, a searchlight announced the arrival of a PT boat. I took off my skirt and waved it so the rescuers could see us. The boat picked us up and brought us to Corregidor Island. I was amazed at what I saw. It was a very well equipped camp with a hospital. The works. While we waited for a launch to take us back to Manila, we were given blankets and served hot coffee.

In Manila, Helena Benitez was waiting for me and I was taken into her home. Meanwhile, my father, learning of the incident, sent the family launch to pick me up and my brother Peping. Because of the mines, the launch docked in Batangas. To get there, Peping and I and Mario Paca walked part of the way, rode a carromata as far as it would take us, rode horses, and slept overnight in a nipa hut. The trip to Cebu took about two days, during which time Mario was seasick. We first docked in Bantayan before we proceeded to the city.

For me it was all one grand adventure. I was even enjoying myself! Later I was to learn that both Emma and Tristan perished in the accident, as did Delfin. So many young and bright people died in that accident. But it was only afterwards that I learned of the immensity of the tragedy. At the time of the sinking and afterwards, all that occupied me was to struggle to stay above water, to latch on to something solid, to get home.

And home I was for Christmas, with lots of stories to tell.

It has been 60 years since the SS Corregidor sank. And Laling Pages, now Javier, and a mother grandmother and a great grandmother, still displays the gutsiness that helped her to survive the Corregidor sinking. With her fellow members of the Women's International League, she is trying to revive Colon street to its glory days. And even if slowly, she and her group will succeed, as they have succeeded in putting up the obelisk marker of the country's oldest street, Colon. They will succeed as she has succeeded in surviving the tragedy of the SS Corregidor sinking as part of life's great adventure.

[ h o m e ] [ t o p ]

A Malling Xmas t'ya

The Grinch and Mr. Scrooge might sneer, "Nyah-ah-ah, Christmas spells big bucks so don't give us that tidbit about Christmas being the season of hope (we smoke it, hi, hi, hi), to give love (why limit it, but on second thought, that's good for our cause), to offer reconciliation (we prefer war) and - cough, cough - mankind's salvation through Jesus Christ."

That's somewhat uncomfortable since I was asked to write about Christmas at the malls for today's Lifestyle feature. This means inevitably touching on the commercial rib of the season we also call Xmas.

So who Xed Christ out of Christmas?

The Greeks, it had to be them. Don't blame me. It seems that Xristos is the Greek form of Christ. The coinage deletes the presence of the Giver, which makes it easier to add other elements to the Christmas story.

On the other hand, we're in the business of selling happiness. Why pretend? We have made the season the way we want to see salvation - with lights, tinsel, gifts, food and revelry, yahoo!

Houses and streets, parks and playgrounds, department stores and malls show off maximum glitter as expression of Christmas.

The focus of this story, malls, have opted for decked arched entry ways that look like lighted horseshoe magnets of good tidings. One came up with a belen (my namesake!) on a pedestal, a place of honor for One born so humbly. Some in strategic spots ensconced the ubiquitous Christmas tree dressed so brightly they looked like chandeliers come down to Earth.

By why describe it when you have eyes to see?

[ h o m e ] [ t o p ]

P'sinan gov't emergency workers: staying alive

CHRISTMAS could still be merry to some 400 Pangasinenses working on a temporary basis in the provincial government even after feelers cropped up that they would most likely lose their jobs after New Year.

By all means, the provincial government did its best in giving what is due to its 400 emergency workers this Yuletide which included a 13th-month pay and cash benefit.

The emergency workers form part of the nearly 1,000 employees working in the various offices within the provincial capitol in Lingayen town.

For this year, the provincial government has released a cash outlay of P54 million which it distributed as 13th-month pay and cash benefit to its employees.

But the provincial administrator admitted that had there been no efforts undertaken painstakingly to incur savings, there could have been no substantial cash in the provincial coffers and the employees might not have received their cash benefits this Christmas.

Apparently, the discerning Pangasinenses could understand sufficiently why the provincial government is embarking into another austerity move that includes trimming down the number of its employees as what it intends to implement next year.

Aside from this, the provincial government is contemplating to suspend unnecessary travels, seminars, trainings, including the hiring of casual employees in the first quarter of next year.

Add to this the fact that the province is anticipating a 15 percent drop in its collection of real property taxes, the worst has yet to come, really, on the liquidity level of the provincial government.

Consequent to this, it is most likely that the provincial government would do something to curb its single biggest expense -- salaries and wages.

On this premise, those whose names are included in the plantilla would have to remain as the regular employees. The rest of the employees are likened to a bulk of overhead which is variable and is always subject to cut.

What is pleasing, nevertheless, is the fact that the emergency workers themselves, have long accepted the truth that their job is not permanent in nature and could be the object of a retrenchment as the need for it arises.

When the emergency workers thought about staying alive amidst the fear of losing their jobs, they indeed, manifested a noble manifestation of their determination.

It must serve as an inspiration to others who face similar fate.

[ h o m e ] [ t o p ]

Yolanda's Yuletide Sweets

I was enjoying a rainy day at the beach during my long vacation when I received a text message from Sun.Star Cebu.

"Mayday, Mayday, pls snd us a ftur. Dis s an mergnC," screamed the message.

Feeling like an old standby generator, I consoled myself: At least they know whom to turn to when crisis comes. Super Oberman! To the rescue!

Christmas will always be special for me and it has nothing to do with gifts and parties. Now, kids, make yourselves comfortable and listen to this little food story.

Yolanda. Once in the office Yolanda noticed that she had lost a magazine she was going to use as inspiration for an ad concept. She was one of the artists in the Art Department of Adz and Architectoons, and her boss had given her a big account to handle. She suspected that it must have slipped from her folder. "Maybe I left it in the taxi," she thought. Then a hunch struck her.

"I'll retrace my steps. Maybe it fell somewhere along the way."

Fear clutching her, Yolanda flew out of the office to the street - not too sure she will find the rare magazine again.

What wonder it was indeed when she saw a Maranao woman with her child, who had a drippy nose. The kid was flipping open Yolanda's magazine!

She gestured "it's mine," and the woman told her daughter to give it back.

Overfilled with joy Yolanda ducked into a nearby drugstore to buy a chocolate bar for the child, a bag of menthol candies for the mother and her friends, and a bar of soap for the woman's family. It was an impulsive gesture fueled by a grateful heart.

Rushing back outside, Yolanda went to the woman who was still chasing after passersby and begging for a few cents for her daily keep.

Yolanda gave the bag to the woman who neither smiled nor gave thanks. Instead she told Yolanda, "Tagai ko kwarta para bugas."

There was nowhere to buy rice.

Yolanda remembered. Once in her hungry years, she, too, had received a seemingly inappropriate largesse.

Her need at that time was for a new pair of pants, but instead the person whom she helped had chosen to give her a carafe and glass set. Just one glass, too.

She wasn't really disappointed, rather, it gave her scant meals a happy contrast: buwad and rice in plastic plate, and water in expensive-looking drinking glass and carafe.

That afternoon with the Maranao woman, Yolanda remembered Christ, too. He wasn't the perfect redeemer. In fact, people in Christ's time thought He was going to be a macho political leader.

He was rejected too in His time and only many years later did those who have never seen Him accept Him and keep Him in their heart.

To this day, Yolanda uses her carafe set during special occasions like Christmas.

[ h o m e ] [ t o p ]

Peace Philarmonice presents 'Chrismas Festival'

The Salvador and Pilar Sala Foundation Inc. (SPSFI) and the Cebu City Marriott Hotel (CCMH) present the Peace Philharmonic Philippines (PPP), the designated national orchestra in Southern Philippines (based in Cebu), in Concert 3, "Christmas Classics Concert" at the Marriott Hotel on Monday, Dec. 17 at 6 p.m.

The PPP Chamber Classics Series will feature, among others, a concerto by G.Ph. Telemann; Haydn's "Symphony No. 45 in F minor; and the finale, Leroy Anderson's "Christmas Festival" conducted by Roberto del Rosario. Cebuanos will certainly agree that the CCMH ballroom is exquisitely attuned to acoustical perfection, a "must" for enjoying to the max the musical artistry of Vivaldi, Mozart, Handel, among others.

Prior to, or after the concert, enjoy the excellent ambiance of the Garden Patio Cocktail Bar or the sumptuous Buffet/Sushi Bar.

***

"Alpiler," a contemplation by artist Raymund L. Fernandez is definitely not a run-of-the-mill art show. According to another photo-artist, Raul Arambulo (who cut the ribbon at the opening last Dec. 7), the artworks for this show were produced using metal-forming techniques utilized in local crafts especially in the local automobile repair industry.

Raymund's involvement with the safety pin (alpiler) dates back to his art workshop classes with University of the Philippines senior students in sculpture, using metal that they formed with a welding machine. What is very interesting was their demo with a meter-long "extra-large" safety pin attached to a tree trunk, which still exists in the UP campus, Lahug to this day.

The exhibit runs till Dec. 18 at the SM City Art Centre.

***

Congratulations are in order for Sun.Star Weekend editor Erma M. Cuizon's book launching, "Vital Flow," last Dec. 2 at Tiya Nena's Restaurant at Ayala Center. The essay collection is a "must-collect" item for anyone's library.

***

The flower arrangement exhibit and pre-Christmas bazaar organized by the green-thumbed ladies of the Ikenobo-Ikebana Society of Cebu was a smashing success, if we are to note the number of sales made at the event.

In fact, it was an artistic and fund-raising success... for those Japanese arrangements are getting, indeed, better every year.

And the wards at the St. Expeditus Foundation (sick babies born of indigent parents) at the Vicente Sotto Memorial Hospital will have a happier Christmas!

***

Themed in Canadian colors was the coffee shop of Shangri-La's Mactan Island Resort during the "A Taste of Canada" foodfest, which preceded the prestigious "Toronto Cantata Chorus" concert at the ballroom.

We even noted a couple of Canadian Royal Mounted Police (in flaming red!) among the guests. Of course, these were locals dressed in Canadian attire. Doing cordial reception honors was Shangri-La's GM, the au-bon-vivant Ben Bousnina assisted ably by new director of marketing Maggie Garcia and super efficient director of communications Neil Rumbaoa.

The Embassy of Canada fully supported the event by sending Senior Trade Commissioner Richard Bale, who was seen interacting with the cocktail set. We couldn't possibly miss Honorary Consul to Canada, Robert, and Anna Lee either as they conversed with Rep. Tony Cuenco...one of his rare appearances!

***

The season of giving is finally with us...and although we don't have much to give in this time of strife and stress, disaster and deprivation, we are still lucky to be in the giving (not receiving) end of the season. If you've lost your home, property and even loved ones, you will feel the need for giving, even more to those who have lost!

[ h o m e ] [ t o p ]

Christmas - and standing on one's head
By Horacio de la Costa, S.J.

(These are excerpts from a homily delivered by the late Fr. Horacio de la Costa, SJ, at the old Ateneo de Manila College of Law chapel. Delivered in the mid-1950s, it still uplifts with its insights into this feast of feasts.)

Christmas is when we celebrate the unexpected; it is the festival of surprise.

This is the night when shepherds wake to the songs of angels; when the earth has a star for a satellite; when wise men go on a fool's errand, bringing gifts to a Prince they have not seen, in a country they did not know.

This is the night when one small donkey bears on its back the weight of the world's desire, and an ox plays host to the Lord of heaven.

This is the night when we are told to seek our King, not in a palace, but in a stable.

Although we have stood here, year after year, as our fathers before us, the wonder has not faded, nor will it ever fade; the wonder of that moment, when we push open the little door, and enter, and entering find in the arms of a Mother, who is a Virgin, a baby who is God.

Chesterton said it for all of us: "The way to view Christmas properly is to stand on one's head."

Was there ever a house more topsy-turvy than the House of Christmas, the cave where Christ was born?

For here, suddenly, in the very heart of earth, is heaven; down is up and up is down; the angels and the stars look down on God who made them and God looks up at the things He made.

There is no room in an inn for Him who made room and to spare, for the Milky Way. And where God is homeless, all men are at home.

We were promised a Savior. But we never dreamed that God, Himself would come to save us.

We knew that He loved us. But we never dared to think that He loved us so much. As to become like us.

But that is the way God gives. His gifts are never quite what we expect, but always something better than we hoped for.

We can only dream of things too good to be true; God has a habit of giving things too good to be false.

That is why our faith is a faith in the unexpected, a religion of surprise.

Now more than ever, living in times so troubled, facing a future so uncertain, we need such faith We need it for ourselves and we need it to give to others.

We must remind the world that if Christmas comes in the depth of winter, it is that there may be an Easter in the spring.

[ h o m e ] [ t o p ]

Pasko sa Baguio features races for disabled Sunday

TOMORROW is "Special Daty for Special People" in the city's month-long calendar of activities under the "Pasko Sa Baguio" program to spread Christmas cheers.

Silahis ng Pasko 2001, a part of the city's Christmas program, will feature two sporting events for the differently abled persons (DAP), namely the walkathon for the blind and the wheelathon for the paraplegics.

A select group of 20 blind athletes and a similar number of people confined to wheelchairs will see action in the sportsfest which will fire off at 6:30 tomorrow morning.

The races will start from the Baguio Country Club main gate, go through scenic South Drive and end at the Silungan Center at Upper Session Road for the awards program.

Philippines and Southeast Asian Games marathon queen Christable Martes and her RP athletics coach Mario Castro will fire the starting gun.

Thom Picana, correspondent of the Manila Times and freelance photographer Mau Victa said cash prizes are at stake in the one and a half kilometer races. The newsmen are event coordinators for the sportsfest.

The first placers will get P1,500, second placers, P1,000 and third placers will receive P500 each. All the other participants in both events will get at least P150 each.

Silahis nga Pasko executive chairman Nars Padilla said the Office of the Social Welfare and Development Officer under Silahis co-chair Betty Fangasan will field a staff of Day Care Center volunteers and students to serve as clappers and guides for the blind walkathon participants.

At least two service patrol Boy Scout units will also help as traffic aides during the races.

Meanwhile, Padilla said the quest for the city and Benguet's Lucky Balikbayans for this Christmas season is on. The quest will focus on the individual, couple and family categories. A special award for the Balik-ng-Balik Balikbayan is also part of the Baguio-Benguet Balikbayan Day program.

December 30 is the red letter day for the special tourism event which will be ushered in by a motorcade and highlighted with a fellowship "canao" at the DOT-CAR Sunshine Park, according to Padila.

[ h o m e ] [ t o p ]

City of Lights photo contest launched

THE city government, in cooperation with Klik Shop and Padi's Point is inviting all photography enthusiasts to join the "City of Lights" Photo Contest, a part of the city's Yuletide activities. The contest runs December 13 to 20.

Deadline for submission of entries is on December 21 and the winners will be selected and proclaimed on December 29 at the Melvin Jones grandstand during the bonfire for peace in line with the "Balik Baguio Sa Pasko 2001" program.

Participants must buy and use the official Fuji film ASA 400, 24 shoots from Klik Shop at the UB Square. The participants must demand for a receipt as proof of purchase from the shop. The same film must also be processed at Klik Shop for a minimal price.

Five grand winners will be chosen. The first prize winner will get a Fujifilm Clearshot III and a roll of film plus free processing. The prizes include a dinner for two at Padi's Point and a free five-kilo laundry service at Klik Laudry Express.

The mechanics of the contest are as follows: a aprticipant must buy the official film requirement from Klik shop; the participant will submit the roll of film to Klick Shop for processing and printing of 5R prints) for a minimal cost of P118 on or before December 21. All 24 frames will be printed as official entries of the participant.

A committee composed of pre-selected judges will choose from the submitted entries. The selected entries, semi-finalits, will be enlarged to 8R free of charge. Twenty semi-finalists will be chosen. Five finalists will then be chosen.

The winning entries and the semi-finalists will be exhibited at the Melvin Jones grandstand.

For more details, see Alvin at Klik Shop, UB Square or Gani Liporada at the City Tourism Office, Office of Councilor Elmo Nevada, City hall.

[ h o m e ] [ t o p ]

Pototan: Christmas Capital of Western Visayas
By Dr. Ma. Nicia Guanco and Ledilia Sorza

POTOTAN, a central municipality in the Province of Iloilo, is noted for its vast tracts of flat land planted to rice and because of which, it has been known as the "Rice Granary of Western Visayas."

Now, it has added another feather to its cap after it has been been officially declared by the Department of Tourism as the "Christmas Capital of Western Visayas."

The distinction is the accomplishment of the desire of Pototan's officialdom, particularly of its mayor of more than 35 years, Manuel P. Parcon, to give love and joy during the Yuletide Season not only to the people of Pototan but to the People of Western Visayas.

The Christmas Celebration, held from the third week of December to the first week of January, was conceived by Mayor Parcon in the late sixties.

The Town Plaza glowed with thousands of Christmas lights and the municipal edifices were traced with colorful lights. It became a yearly celebration, which attracted people from different municipalities of the province. Unfortunately, the proclamation of Martial Law bought an end to the popular celebration.

The Christmas Celebration of Lights saw a new dawn, about ten years ago, when Mayor Parcon, inspired by the renovation of the new Municipal Plaza, initiated the resumption of the celebration.

The artfully-renovated plaza and newly installed dancing fountain, municipal hall, edifices and streets with in the Poblacion were meticulously adorned with attractive and colorful lights which once again, mesmerized and brought joy to visitors.

The festivities became very popular and drew a huge crowd of no less than 10,000 to 15,000 people nightly coming not only from the province of Iloilo but the whole of Western Visayas.

In 1997, a group from the private sector, having seen the Christmas Celebration of Lights as a gateway for the development of the Municipality, conceptualized a celebration that would promote Pototan as a tourist destination and in the process improve Pototan economically.

It also aimed to improve the cultural awareness of the People. Above all, Pototan being a predominantly Catholic Community, shares the true meaning of Christmas, which is the birth of the Savior Jesus Christ.

With these in mind, came the birth of Iwag, which is an Ilonggo term for light, the celebration being a festival of lights and above all, to symbolize the True Light that enlightens the world, Jesus Christ.

Thus, since 1997, a Christmas parade preceded the grand opening salvo wherein the lights are formally switched on.

This is also followed by a free nightly cultural show presentation by different agencies and dance troupes, food festival and agro-trade exhibits.

It has also become a community-based affair, awaited and anticipated by all Pototanons wherein homes especially along the Plaza and main streets are just as colorfully decked with lights.

From its humble beginning, Iwag, A Christmas Celebration of Lights, has taken on a grander scale until it has grown into an awesome spectacle that it has become today.

Its opening nights have attracted an average of 30,000 people from far and near and the municipal plaza has teemed with no less than 10,000 to 15,000 sightseers nightly.

This year's grand opening salvo will kick off on December 16, 2001, with a Christmas parade at 3:30 PM, followed by the opening salvo at 6 p.m., which will be graced by the world class cultural performer, Dagyaw of the Iloilo National High School.

Iloilo's famous Totong Villaruz Band will grace the opening of the food fair on the same night.

In times of economic difficulties, political and social crises, the municipality of Pototan hopes to instill the timeless message of faith, hope and love and the real essence of the season: Christ is the True Light that Enlightens the World.

[ h o m e ] [ t o p ]