THE SM Downtown Premier in Cagayan de Oro City welcomed the Yuletide season with a grand unveiling and lighting of its Christmas centerpiece last Sunday, November 11.
The lighting ceremony of the 55-foot tall Christmas tree, which is the tallest indoor Christmas tree in Cagayan de Oro, according to Assistant Vice President for Marketing in Mindanao Russel Alaba, was made grander by performances from the Filipino-Norwegian singer-actor Markki Stroem, who entertained the delighted kids and screaming fans with Christmas songs.
The Christmas tree was made bright and sparking with hundreds of Christmas balls and stars decorated around it.
"We wanted really to sort of like this tree adds sparkle and brightness to the Christmas celebration here in Cagayan de Oro, that's why our campaign theme is: 'A Sparkling Downtown Christmas,'" Alaba said.
"Of course, Christmas is the brightest season of all, so we wanted to really capture that with our theme. And as you can see, the mall is brightly lit, as you would say, as we celebrate the season," he added.
Apart from the tall shimmering tree, SM CDO Downtown Premier's centerpiece also include the giant golden stars which, according to Alaba, is the mall's way of paying homage to the city of Cagayan de Oro, which is known as the City of Golden Friendship.
"As you can see, it’s predominantly gold. And also gold symbolizes the season like as one of the gifts of the three magis: gold, frankincense and myrrh," Alaba said.
In the Christmas story of the three magis/kings, after Jesus Christ was born, they offered him gifts of gold (precious metal), frankincense (incense) and myrrh (anointing oil). These, according to Bible History Daily (biblicalarchaeology.org), symbolize kingship, priestly role, and prefiguring of Jesus' death and embalming, respectively.
SM CDO Downtown Premier will also be having several holiday events lined up for the celebration of the Yuletide season.
"Expect lots of great celebration, holiday treats for them. We will have the orchestra in all the Saturdays of December, we will have Santa Meet and Greet that will be for the entire month of December," Alaba said.
Kagay-anons are also welcome to have their photos taken with the "Most Instagrammable Christmas tree in Cagayan de Oro," as tagged by Alaba and several people present during the lighting ceremony.
"We're providing a great venue for families and even friends to celebrate the season, the holidays, and really just creating memories as well," Alaba said.
SM CDO Downtown Premier mall goers also should look forward to the holiday feast which will happen in December at the fifth floor of the mall.
As a teaser, Alaba said the holiday feast will highlight the food usually serve at home during the Christmas season.
"We're highlighting everything that you will serve in your homes or even would partake of when you go out and dine because you want to feel a little bit festive in terms of food. It’s a wine pairing event over the weekend at the fifth level. That's something to watch out for," Alaba said.
However, before that, one of the biggest events in SM Downtown Premier will be happening this November 29 until December 2.
The Elegance and Class: A Bridal Fair is a celebration of wedding suppliers, talents, and industry leaders. The event will showcase world-class suppliers from Mindanao.
"We always wanted to be part of the holiday celebration of every Filipino families. So here at SM Downtown, we really did our best to make it a truly memorable and truly bright season for our shoppers," Alaba said.
"We know that everyone is going on a Christmas shopping rush, so we wanted to make their shopping experience a little bit more delightful, a little bit more exciting with all of our displays. We're inviting everyone to come and see, and even have their photos taken in our sparkling Christmas tree here at SM CDO Downtown Premier," he added.