Why we celebrate milestones & anniversaries

Last July 23, at the Bayanihan Hall of Unilab (through the kind sponsorship of Medichem), the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine of UP Manila College of Medicine had a kick-off event to formally announce its 50th anniversary in April 2014. It was a nostalgic reunion for its consultants, residency and fellowship training alumni, nursing and occupational therapy staff and retirees with inspirational talks by Dr. Laureen Conanan and Dr. Henrietta Española, two residency training alumni who chose to practice in the province as culturally competent psychiatrists, and Dr. Cornelio Banaag Jr., one of the first two UP PGH Psychiatry residency training graduates. (The other one is Dr. Lourdes Ignacio, the founding president of the Philippine Psychiatric Association.) Both Dr. Banaag, considered the “father of Philippine child and adolescent psychiatry,” and Dr. Ignacio, deemed as the “mother of Philippine social and community psychiatry,” are now internationally recognized as experts in their subspecialties.

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Cagayan de Oro and Iligan City commemorated the first anniversary of tropical storm Sendong that left thousands dead and hundreds missing in Northern Mindanao on Dec. 17 last year with simple rituals and activities to give meaning to the reason why the survivors are still alive and inspire them to move on with their lives. Cagayan de Oro City Councilor Alexander Dacer said, “The activity would be grand as they were out to give importance to the survivors and the city. This was to celebrate since they have survived the crisis. The Sendong tragedy was no joke, it had marked a history in their city that needed to be remembered. Apart from the games and raffles, part of the commemoration was to offer a prayer to those who died.”

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When UP Manila-PGH celebrated its centennial anniversary in 2008, it awarded its deserving faculty and staff as a sign of appreciation for their expertise in their specialties, loyal service and dedication to serve the underserved. I was one of the awardees where apart from the certificate of appreciation, I received a gift check equivalent to the number of years being commemorated. To date, employees and faculty staff are being awarded with loyalty awards, certificates and tokens, for their years of service for which they feel valued and appreciated by the said institution.

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Throughout our life, we bear witness to various traditional celebrations and anniversaries. Spouses have wedding celebrations and even boyfriends and girlfriends have their monthly and yearly anniversary celebrations to express their love, care and fidelity to each other. Parents, when they can afford, celebrate their children’s birthdays with big or small parties, like debuts. By the way, my daughter, Berna Jao will be part the “18 Treasures” at the debut of Junezza Garay, daughter of engineer Jun Garay on Aug. 2.

My son, Dr. Bernard Jao and his wife, Dr. Ednalyn Ong-Jao, celebrate monthly the birth and developmental milestones of their firstborn Erin Bianca with cakes and pictorials to document each month. They now have religiously documented every cognitive and psychosocial achievement of my first grandchild, now enrolled in a toddler class at Miriam College.

Yes, several dates and events in our lives have psychological significance and meaning for us as they have helped to shape our sense of identity, individually and collectively in our family, workplace and community.  Such celebrations remind us of our accomplishments and learnings, and inspire us to continue on this path.

(For questions on love, looks and relationships, e-mail me at nina.halilijao@gmail.com or send your letters to Rm. 309 Medical Arts Bldg., St. Luke’s Medical Center, E. Rodriguez Ave., Quezon City.)