Christmas in our Hearts

Christmas season is in the air. The weather is colder. Daylight is shorter. Carols are everywhere to be heard. And people has been thronging to malls causing the usual December traffic. In the Philippines, Christmas comes in very early. As early as September in fact. We call it the "ber months". As soon as September hits the calendar, Christmas carols can be heard from radio stations. And early bird customers go promptly to markets to avoid the bargain fever come November. This could last up to the early weeks of January the following year where the season ends with the celebration of the Three Kings. That's how we Filipinos love the season so dearly. And this is what our fellow Filipinos abroad miss. True, we will never experience the spectacle of a white Christmas but we surely don't want it to be blue either.

Our own celebration is so joyous that you can feel the warmth and spirit of true Christmas. The spirit is not only within our own homes and families but to total strangers. The beauty of it is that, we only not spend it with our families but also with our friends, officemates, godchildren and oftentimes the less fortunates, the sick and inmates. We do exchange gifts, kris kringles, visit the orphanages, hospitals and prisons and hand donations and gifts instead of spending it on lavish Christmas parties. It's a time of great spending. But most of the time it's not for ourselves but for others we care about. That has been part of our traditions ever since.

My former officemates, together with my wife and I are planning this simple event of sponsoring a Christmas party for street kids this season - a group of simple rank and file employees. If this pushes through, it would be a most heart felt celebration not only for us but for the kids.