The spirit of Christmas

 What do I like about Christmas? Let me count the ways.

First, I like touching base with old friends, some of who I get to exchange words at about the same time every year, even for just a few minutes. This brings out some of the warmest of feelings in me as we try to pack in a whole year of life in our short conversation.

There’s this whole spirit of giving that also can’t be ignored. Whether your budget is P100 (or smaller) or P1,000 (or more), it’s the emotion of receiving something, anything, from a family member, a friend or a colleague at work.

Of course, it still feels good to be able to give. It’s one way of expressing gratitude for having shared another year with people, never mind if the year had been a trying one. I can’t imagine a Christmas where I can’t be allowed to share something of myself.

I look forward to goodies that I normally see and eat only during the Christmas season. There’s my sister-in-law’s bacalao that reminds me so much of my mom’s cooking. Of course, there’s the Chinese ham, cheese, and pastries all so rich and sinful but need to be on the table on Christmas day.

This time of year is also an excuse for me to write something more personal in this column, a departure from the serious stuff (and some not too serious) that I dish out from my laptop twice a week, 53 weeks of the year. (I come out with very short columns three weeks in a year when I’m on sabbatical.)

And the highlight of Christmas is when my grandchildren clamber all over me during the grand traditional clan get-together, with their proud parents milling around and sharing the grace of love and affection that only happy families are able to.

For Filipinos, there is no time of year more powerful than Christmas. From any corner of the world, the sentimentality of the season zips across, daring to span wide masses of land and vast expanses of oceans. It is an emotion that can never, never be repressed.

To all our readers, may the spirit of genteel Christmas reign in our lives forever.

Should you wish to share any insights, write me at Link Edge, 25^th Floor, 139 Corporate Center, Valero Street, Salcedo Village, 1227 Makati City. Or e-mail me at [email protected]. For a compilation of previous articles, visit www.BizlinksPhilippines.net.