Tuesday, December 23, 2008 Antalan: Christmas stories By Roger Antalan Dateline Igacos
INSTEAD of writing heavy stuff, such as the true meaning of Christmas during these tough and trying times, we will just share with you a few little Christmas stories, on the lighter side. As somebody flippantly said: "Christmas has come, let us eat and drink. This is no time to sit and think."
The first story is about a modern-day Scrooge. He did not want to be with relatives and friends during Christmas. He left Manila and went to Baguio City.
He checked in at a little hotel at the outskirt of the City of Pines. On Christmas Eve, he dined at a fine restaurant and listened to music till midnight. When it was time to go to his hotel, there was no taxi available. He was stranded on the sidewalk for hours, alone and in bitter cold weather.
A well-known local politician usually receives many gifts and packages during Christmas. Once, a businessman friend asked him if he liked what he gave. The politician could not remember receiving anything from that particular friend.
Upon investigation, he found out that some of his staff helped themselves to some of the goodies received without informing him. A seasoned politician, he now knows how to thank profusely the gift-givers even if he has not seen their gifts.
To some people, novelty is the one quality required for gift giving. Let's listen to this conversation. "How did your wife like the back-scratchers I sent her for Christmas?" "So that's what they were? She's been making me eat salad with them."
Every year before Christmas, this particular parish priest would go to Davao City to buy gifts for his favorite parishioners, such as rosaries, medals, crucifixes and bibles. While shopping for his other needs, he parked his jeep in a crowded area of the city. While inside a store, a boy snatched the package of religious items and got away before anybody could stop him. A bystander tried to comfort the priest: "It's alright, Father, with all those religious items he got, that boy might still become a priest someday."
Many years ago, there was another priest who had the luxury of changing his clothes every year. Every year during Christmas time, his parishioners gifted him with new clothing materials. He gave his relatively new clothes to the poor.
One time, he sent his giveaway clothes to a faraway barangay in Davao del Norte. Later on, it was reported that a rebel easily passed through a military checkpoint. He was wearing the priest's gray attire with the round collar.
This year is a very special Christmas for this Filipino seaman. For six years, he was always out on the high seas aboard an oil tanker during Christmas time and his regular route is through the Gulf of Aden, which is infested with the now well-known Somali pirates. Luckily, he got a leave schedule this year to spend Christmas with his wife and children. He is thankful to God he still has a good job and fervently prays that the problem of the Somali pirates will be resolved in January when he goes aboard a tanker again.
All of us have nice little stories about Christmas. Christmas will always be a great time to share stories, especially if these are stories of love and generosity and devotion.
