I Love Christmas

The yuletide season is perhaps the happiest season in this our predominantly Christian country.

In contrast to the oppressive heat of the sweltering summer, this time the air is crisp and balmy. The weather is generally refreshing and invigorating. It is a pleasant experience to stroll down a country lane at night and view the harvest moon sometimes framed between coconut fronds as it sails serenely trough a cloudless tropical sky.

Christmas lanterns of various shapes and colors hang in the windows of some homes. Their soft glow seems to say that the light of peace and love and goodwill is also shining in the hearts of the people inside.

School is out for the long holidays, and the happy voices of the children at play are heard everywhere. Even their pet dogs seem to enjoy romping around with their young masters. Some parents take their children to the malls and, in spite of the tight money situation these day, they still come home with packages under their arms. These kids will perhaps wear new clothes and sport new shoes when they go to church.

 Instead of the usual jazz and rock ‘n roll, the atmosphere is filled with tunes reminiscent of happy childhood Christmasses of the past – “Silent Night,” “O little town of Bethlehem,” “Joy to the world,” “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing and other homegrown variety. The carols – belted out of tune by street children with accompaniment of empty sardine cans – evoke nostalgic memories of halcyon days of yore.

We see the symbols of Christmas everywhere – the tinsel of gold and glitter of silver, the jingle bells and happy carols, the well-decorated Christmas trees with a star at the top, the red-nosed reindeer and jolly old Santa, the queso de bola and the other noche Buena goodies, the gift packages tied with ribbons of red and green, and so on. I really Love Christmas.