December air has a way of making one feel nostalgic. Again I can feel the bug eating at me once again. Christmas carols fill the airwaves. Decorations are already out and firmly tacked in each corner of the house. Some have even started putting decorations as early as November.
With the economic recession that is hitting the country right now, the word Merry Christmas will surely apply only to a select few. Perhaps for the majority of our poor people the word Merry doesn’t apply. Whenever I send out Christmas greetings to friends I usually add a short message at the bottom of the printed greetings to add a personal touch to the card. This time, I was careful not to write Merry Christmas because for me the greeting sounds too trite. To some I did, though. The message just comes out naturally, because deep in me this is basically the message that I want to communicate. Isn’t there is a lot to be merry about when we celebrate Christmas? It’s the birthday of the King, after all. The Lord comes to our life bringing us peace, love and joy. And for me, these gifts are more than enough to make us feel merry and fulfilled even in the midst of economic recession.
Some of us have a shallow understanding that our celebration of Christmas is and can only be manifested by buying and hoarding of material things. It is a sad thing to think about. Christmas is slowly losing its true essence in the passing of years. It is becoming commercialized. Thanks to western influences amplified by the media. Certain people also used this time to promote their own interests at the expense of the less privileged ones. Take this true story, for example. A friend once told me of a person known for her acts of charity who gave certain amount of donation to a particular institution. As can be expected the lady brought with her a retinue of photographers to take pictures of her act of kindness. This friend told me how she felt bad for the nun accepting the donation in behalf of the institution. The lady, handing out the check to the nun, did not really release the check till the very end because she made sure that several pictures of her were taken at various angles. Certainly this lady knew what she was doing. The next day her photos were splashed on the major dailies extolling her philanthropic act.
Many of us though, have also realized that we are slowly doing away with our spiritual values in the celebration of Christmas through our prevalent practices. It is a good thing a group called Samahan para sa Alternatibong Pasko has been started by some committed Christians who are intent in bringing back spirituality in the celebration of Christmas. This group gives talks to various sectors to raise consciousness on how to celebrate alternative Christmas in homes, organizations and parishes.
The true essence of Christmas lies in our heart, in our understanding of what we celebrate about and whom it is we are celebrating with. May be the time has now come for us to bring some changes in our mode of celebration. Our festivities will lose its meaning if it only points towards material things and the fulfillment of our personal agenda. Let us put in the center of our celebration the birthday celebrant.
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