The Philippines holds the longest Christmas celebration. As soon as the "ber months" start (which is September), Mariah Carey's All I Want for Christmas or Jose Marie Chan's Christmas album can be heard all over the malls, stalls, houses, and even on the busy streets. Gigantic Christmas trees and lights are all over the place, making the evenings bright. Parols were my favorite. These are star-shaped lanterns that are hung outside your houses; they come in different colors, which makes it even more beautiful. This long festivity would last until the middle of January, so a yes for those who love Christmas!
Despite being a tropical country, the "ber months" weather is just different; the air is cold, and the people are whimsical. Barangays hold nativity-scene-making competitions or recycled Christmas tree decoration competitions. I used to participate with my father when I was a child. We sometimes won, but mostly didn't, and I'm still happy nevertheless. Maybe because the process of doing it was more fun than the outcome.
Christmas season was my favorite holiday. It is just different; everything just makes you feel giddy. There's this unexplainable butterfly in your stomach. Children are mostly outside their houses, playing, singing, caroling. I, too, used to love doing Christmas carols, knocking on doors, and asking if it was okay for us to do caroling. But mostly, we did not even bother to knock, so the homeowners never had the choice but to give us pennies after the singing. My brother holds the flattened stainless caps from the Coke bottle he nailed to a wooden stick; this will serve as our maracas while my sister and I sing to our hearts' content. By the end of the night, we'll accumulate 20 to 50 pesos, which we will divide so we can save up to Christmas Eve and buy ourselves a gift.
The 9 days before Christmas Eve are called "misa de gallo". These are dawn masses that start at 4-5 am. Our ancestors believed that by completing the 9 masses, Jesus Christ would grant your wish. So, despite us being sleepyheads, my siblings and I will drag our half-opened eyes to attend the mass with our mother. Though 8/9 of the mass, we got scolded for sleeping in the church instead of listening to the priest's homily. But our ancestors never said we needed to listen attentively; we just had to attend. That was our justification back then.
And during Christmas Eve, the family is complete; the titos, titas, lolos, and lolas you haven't met in your entire life emerge; the distant cousins, the friend of a friend, the just-introduced boyfriends are all in the living room, laughing and recounting the memories shared. I loved Christmas! It just makes the entire house feel small. But my favorite part of it is the Nochebuena. These are the food prepared the whole day before the supper. During the morning of the 24th of December, the house is turned upside down. The balloons have to be blown, the table has to be set up, the chinaware has to be dusted off, the chair covers need to be changed. And of course the food, the star of the night, has to be prepared; the adobo has to be cooked; the sweet spaghetti needs to be topped off with the cheese; fruit salad has to be in the fridge; the lechon manok needs to be whole; the cake, the putos, and other Filipino delicacies.
However, the Christmas season right now is different. I do not even anticipate it as much as I did back then.
Then again, I asked myself: was it really the season that became different, or did I just grow up?
No one told me that when you grow up, you'd also lose the whimsy in you; the colored-covered glasses are broken, and the holiday you used to anticipate so much would turn into just a normal day. And I am so ashamed of this. It seems like I left something behind.
So this coming Christmas will be different. I don't want adult life taking something from me. I want my whimsy back.
Advance Merry Christmas, everyone! XOXO
*- me writing this on my computer in the office.
Posted by Waivio guest: @waivio_mika