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Wednesday, December 14, 2005
Wenceslao: Worst Christmas?
By Bong O. Wenceslao
I came across a news item recently that claimed Christmas 2005 will probably the worst one for Filipinos. The reason? The sparse crowd in malls and department stores. Supposedly, people are holding on to their money despite the flood of dollars to the country from overseas Filipino workers. But does that translate to a bad Christmas?
As a friend would say, “Its depends.” Pope Benedict XVI talked recently about how materialism has taken over Christmas celebrations. Apparently, he was referring to those who measure Christmas by the cash in the box or the gifts they receive during the season. With the economic crunch, how can Christmas be good to these people?
But then, the essence of Christmas is supposed to be spiritual. Play to me a Christmas song in December and this strange feeling suddenly blankets my being. I could pick out in the mix of emotions that envelops me: joy, longing, peace. And there’s the recollection of scenes that remind me that the best Christmases are never expensive.
For me Christmas has always been, firstly, about misa de gallo and midnight mass. In my younger days, we would walk from our place in B. Rodriguez Ext. to the Redemptorist Church at dawn---without even a centavo in our pockets. That goes too for the midnight mass. Yet, I would consider those times the happiest.
I grew up in Sitio Kawayan, one of the squatter areas in Barangay Sambag 2. Christmases there are merry despite the limited resource. What we lacked in material things we made that up with the joys of companionship with family and friends. A karaoke or guitar here, pansit and soft drinks there and, as we say, “everybody happy.”
And one doesn’t have to be in celebratory mood. In the hinterlands of Cebu City where I lived for six years, the farmers sleep on the eve of Christmas. I would force myself to wake up and go to an area that afforded me a view of the city proper to view the fireworks. In the countryside, Christmas is not visible because it is inside: in the heart.
I therefore don’t agree with the claim that Christmas 2005 might be our worst Christmas because of the economic crunch we are experiencing, or because people are not flocking to the malls and department stores or if they go there are only window shopping. I say Christmases will always be wondrous if we just stay true to its essence.
TEXTREAX. Here’s a relevant text message from Cristian Malaki: “Amazing grace comes from a gentle acceptance of life simply the way it is. Life has its seasons and reasons, take it as it comes.”
(khanwens@yahoo.com/0927-2055064)
(December 14, 2005 issue)
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