Overlooked

A friend of mine works as an Executive Chef at a local restaurant. Once, I was bragging about the perks of being a teacher: having an extended Christmas break. On the other hand, he was lamenting the fact that holidays were his busiest time. And Christmas Eve, when everyone else was out to dinner at a posh restaurant, he and his staff—waitresses, busboys and other service crew were the ones making sure everyone else’s evening was special. No one really notices how difficult it is for these people, he said. I was ashamed to admit he was right.

As a teacher, I’ve never cared much about what days the government declared as holidays during the Christmas season. I’m always off a week or so before Christmas anyway. But at the back of my head, I always did figure that people had some form of break. I never considered that they’d be working overtime on the days I spent with my family.

And it’s not just the people who are in the food industry either. There must be hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people in this country who are forced to work on what is the most special of days. Security guards who stay up to make sure nothing gets lost. Janitors who clean up after all the parties. Drivers who bring people to Midnight Mass. Helpers who open the gates to all the guests who come to visit. Yayas who make sure the kids are asleep so the gifts can be laid out. All these people whom we take for granted because we’re too busy celebrating the Christmas. All these people who are asked to give up time with their families so they can be with ours.

Christmas is as good a time as any to tell these people that we are grateful to them and for them not just by giving bonuses or hand-me-downs or bigger tips. But to actually tell them that we appreciate what they’re doing, that we realize what they’re sacrificing, that we are celebrating with them and not just next to them, that their presence and service are gifts to us.

That’s what Christmas should be about, I think—being aware of the gift of presence, of persons. The first Christmas wasn’t about a party really. It was more like a gathering, to give honor and praise to the best gift that ever was, has been, or will be given to humankind. And after all, we ought to remember Christ didn’t just come to the Magi. He came to the shepherds too. The ones who were too busy tending their sheep to take the night off.

So allow me to send out my early Christmas greetings to everyone (I won’t have an article the week after next; even newspaper folks get a break at Christmas). To all the waiters, janitors, security guards, busboys, drivers, helpers, yayas, salespersons, cooks, lechoneros and to everyone out there—may the light, peace and love of Christ shine on you and your families as you have so brightly shone in our lives with your selfless service. Merry Christmas to all!