What has become of our Christmas?

Still on a "counting my blessings" mode, I consider myself lucky to have lived through happier times in this country. Those were the days when the Christmas season was much anticipated. Even the weather then was better… crisp and nippy kind of cold, not muggy and rainy. Once upon a time, Christmas was a season of joy.

I don’t know how your Christmas turned out and hopefully, it was as happy as it could be in our present times. But just in case you are one of those who think it could have been better, well... don’t feel so bad. Hindi ka nag-iisa. A pre-holiday survey conducted by the Social Weather Stations (SWS), found a steady decline among Filipinos anticipating a happy Christmas, from upper classes ABC and the lower class E since 2002.

The SWS survey showed that adult Filipinos expecting a happy Christmas slumped to 62 percent this year from 64 percent in 2004, 77 percent in 2003 and 82 percent in 2002. The 20 percent drop over three years, which also happened to be Ate Glue’s watch, is shocking. Yet, it is not surprising, given the state of our economy and the absence of hope that things would change for the better in the immediate future.

In the previous three years, about three out of four (72 to 78 percent) of classes ABCs expected a happy Christmas, but now only three out of five (62 percent) do so. Only 61 percent of Class E respondents are looking forward to a happy Christmas, a decline from the 68 percent in 2004, 75 percent in 2003 and 82 percent in 2002.

Nothing is really as bad as being sad on Christmas. Even in the developed countries, it is said that the suicide rate goes up during the holiday season. Their problem there is loneliness. At least back here, we are able to cope. We may be less than happy but at least we know how to manage somehow.

The SWS survey findings underscored the sad state of our economy. Like it or not, the material aspects of the holiday season cannot be sublimated completely. Our spiritual leaders may talk all they want about the spiritual roots of the holiday but if there’s no food on the table, let alone a leg of ham (the most sought after food for the season, according to the same SWS survey), it is simply difficult to feel joyful.

I noticed that even if the malls were busier than usual since last Friday, I have seen busier last minute shopping sprees in the past years. Most families, I guess, are content to just be together, given the drastic change in the nature of the Filipino family as a result of the OFW phenomenon. I imagine too that people are now saving more of their hard-earned incomes from abroad, in anticipation of more difficult times ahead. In the past, there was a tendency to splurge on flashy consumer goods.

The findings of this pre-Christmas SWS survey should worry our officials. It shows how low the morale of the nation has gone. There will have to be a day of retribution if the situation remains as bad as it is today, or if the tendency to deteriorate is not arrested. Hopefully, when SWS surveys again 12 months from now, we will find more of us anticipating Christmas the way we used to, with a lot of happiness.

Binondo Chinoys

The couple of columns I wrote on the 168 mall must have touched a raw nerve in the Binondo Chinoy community. I got a call from someone who said he was from a Binondo Chinese newspaper and he wanted permission to reprint last Wednesday’s column.

Then I got e-mailed reactions. One of these came from someone who signed as "Tony Uy" and describes himself as a natural born Filipino of Chinese ancestry. It revealed a fissure between the Chinoys and the new arrivals from the mainland.

Here are portions of the long e-mail of Mr. Uy.

Good day. Saw your article today re 168. I am a Chinoy oldtimer in Divisoria, in fact, our store is in existence since the 70s. You might consider those stores in Divisoria as part of the underground economy. But we have slowly evolved above ground. What with the frequent visits of the BIR, Labor etc

And of course, with a good education here and abroad, the younger generation started to look for business opportunities outside Divisoria. However, I now see my parents who are still here in Divisoria, struggling amidst competition from these new arrivals from China. It was six years ago, when the Chinese diaspora started. That time, many among the younger Chinoy generation, whose only allegiance is to the Philippines, were starting to be irritated by these mainlanders. But the older generation admonished us to let them be...because we are all of Chinese blood.

Now, they are sorry for letting them be. It is regretful that some of these new arrivals are the dregs of society back in China. Many of them are drug pushers, smugglers, thieves, killers. It is puzzling why these people are coming here in droves when China is getting stronger everyday. I can understand why my ancestors came here. At that time, life in China was really very hard. Strange as it seems, we in the Philippines must be more progressive than China.

There must be some truth to the stories we hear about drugs in shipments of cheap goods. How else can they afford to price their goods at almost giveaway levels? Smuggling is the only explanation possible. Even those who are not into drugs, smuggle all sorts of fake items from Colgate, Rejoice, Goodyear tires, Nescafe, LV bags etc.

The price of a stall in 168 mentioned in your article is true. I was planning to buy a stall there because of its popularity and of course because its tax free. The owner, a Mr. So must be raking in billions. In fact, with the cooperation of the good mayor, we hear they are going to build a mall on the site of a public school and transfer school to the abandoned lot near Pasig River.

The use of fictitious business names is also true. Go to Divisoria mall and check it out for yourself. Ask for a receipt and you will see a Filipino name as proprietor, but definitely the owner is a Chinese. Sometimes, you can see the picture of the Chinese owner in the business name, but lo and behold she has a Filipino name. Or if they have a Chinese name, their birth certificate indicate that they were born somewhere in the provinces. Funny, but if that’s true, how come they do not know how to speak Tagalog. If the government does not do anything fast, these Chinese mainlanders will surely control our underground economy.

Lastly, I want to point out something basic. You wrote in your column that the BIR Commisioner will try to make these tax evaders pay their taxes. You missed the most important point. THEY ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE SELLING HERE BECAUSE THEY ARE ALIENS.

By the way, do you know that the Chinese consul visited these Chinese mainlanders the day after the BIR visit (It’s written in the Chinese newspapers.) Now, everything is business as usual.

Thank you for your time.

Christmas date

This one was sent by Norbert Goldie.

A man is in this office Christmas party when he noticed a gorgeous redhead. He has been checking her out since he saw her, and their eyes met. But he didn’t have the nerve to talk to her.

Suddenly she sneezes, and her glass eye comes flying out of its socket towards the man. He reflexively reaches out, grabs it out of the air, and hands it back.

"Oh my, I am so sorry," the woman says as she pops her eye back in place. "Let’s get out of here and have dinner someplace," she says.

They enjoy a wonderful dinner together, and afterwards they go to the theater followed by drinks They talk, they laugh, she shares her deepest dreams and he shares his. She listens. She then asks him if he would like to come to her place for a nightcap and stay for breakfast. They had a wonderful, wonderful time.

The next morning, she cooks a gourmet meal with all the trimmings. The guy is amazed! Everything had been SO incredible!

"You know," he said, "you are the perfect woman. Are you this nice to every guy you meet?"

"No," she replies. . . . You just happened to catch my eye."

Boo Chanco’s e-mail address is [email protected]