A lesson from the Grinch - STAR BYTES by Butch Francisco

As a child, I used to be a Christmas freak. But that was a long, long time ago - when the exchange rate was only P7 to a dollar.

I liked everything about the Yuletide season then — the food, the decors and the nippy Christmas air.

My favorite Christmas food during those days was fruitcake which — so I was told — used to come in a can and was being imported from the United States up to the ‘60s. When my Mom learned to make this traditional Christmas treat, she would start baking several loaves as early as October. Every night, she would take out each loaf from the fridge and sprinkle it with sherry brandy until every single crumb has been soaked with liquor.

The other Christmas foods I looked forward to at home during the holidays were the jalea ube (purple yam), the fruit salad with lychees and the salty Chinese ham cooked in beer. But I didn’t like the queso de bola so much. In fact, as a child, I would only eat the red part which, I would discover later, was nothing but wax.

Our Christmas tree wasn’t really all that extraordinary. It was the usual tree with leaves made of gold tin foil that was dime a dozen in those days.

In one corner of the house was the belen - with tiny figurines of the Holy Family, the three kings and the shepherds and their small flock of sheep. This complete set was bought at the then princely sum of P23 from the Catholic Trade store in Manila.

When I reached the age of 15, I did the general cleaning myself — all by my lonesome self. I would start on the first day of the Christmas break and clean the whole house — upstairs and downstairs (with the exception of the maids’ quarters because I thought that was already their territory). With soap and water, I would scrub the walls, the ceilings and floors. For three straight days, I would start cleaning at 8 a.m. and finish at 12 midnight — stopping only for lunch and dinner. (No, the house wasn’t that big. I was just slow.)

Even if all that effort was never appreciated by my family (sniff), I still went on doing it year after year because I loved Christmas so much and I wanted the house to be sparkling clean on this special holiday.

But things are different now. Today, I dread the coming of Christmas because of the traffic, the expenses and just thinking of all the gifts you have to buy, wrap and deliver.

I don’t particularly like fruitcakes and jalea ube anymore because these are fattening. The Chinese ham is even deadlier since it is rich in cholesterol.

Putting up the Christmas tree is now a chore. The leaves gather dust and there is the problem of storage.

I know that Christmas marks the birth of Christ. But it has become so commercialized that it has already lost its significance. And forgive me for saying so, but there are moments when I wish it would just pass like a bad dream at night.

No, I’m not the Grinch and I’m not yet turning into one. And if I may already segue into my film review, the Grinch had completely different reasons why he stole Christmas.

According to the movie (which is based on the book by Dr. Seuss), the Grinch was unhappy as a child because he looked different (he already had a beard at the age of eight). He had no friends and was forever taunted by kids in school (in a fictional place called Whoville).

During the holiday season one time, they were supposed to exchange presents in class. He prepared a special gift for his puppy love and even tried shaving his beard for this special occasion. But his electric razor went awry and he showed up in class looking funnier than ever. Needless to say, he was again taunted in school. But enough was enough. He fought back and in the melee, his special Christmas gift was toppled over and broke into several pieces.

From that moment on, he swore off Christmas, left Whoville and lived like a hermit in a dumpsite called Crumpit. But he would sneak back into town during the Yuletide season just to ruin the holiday spirit.

The Grinch — which is a big moneymaker in the US — should be visually attractive to children. Like most other film that uses Christmas as motif, this movie is bursting with colors of the holiday season.

I’m not just quite sure if kids would also appreciate some of the jokes of Jim Carrey who plays the fur-covered Grinch. No, there’s nothing lascivious about Carrey’s humor here in The Grinch (unlike in his previous film, Me, Myself and Irene). It’s just that some of the dialogues he utters here are better fit for the sensibilities of a mature person.

Playing the role of the Grinch — which requires a lot of physical movements — Jim Carrey is again at his best. He is still funny even when he is being totally repulsive (which must be difficult for an actor to do).

As the villain, you can’t hate the Grinch completely because you know that there is still some goodness left in his heart — and that he only became mean after he was driven to the edge by the people of his town.

And ironically, for somebody who detests Christmas, the Grinch is the only one who has a deep comprehension of the real meaning of the holiday season.

If only for this meaningful message, I guess it’s really worth watching The Grinch. From this fur-covered creature, we are bound to pick up a lesson or two on how to fully understand the true essence of this most joyous occasion.