How Christmas has changed

Christmas Festival Month every December in the Philippines is among the best celebrations acknowledged by many nationalities in the world. The tradition remains strong with us because of close family ties and the inherent love of the Filipinos for fun and merrymaking. Hence, as early as November, houses are decorated with lanterns or parols and Christmas lights. Old practices like the noche buena and simbang gabi never fail to reunite families together.

 Our ancestors first held Christmas when the Spaniards came more than four centuries ago. Unlike what is done at present, Christmas gifts were exchanged not on Christmas Day but during the Epiphany, or the Feast of the Three Kings in commemoration of the gifts given by the Three Kings to the newborn son of God. Christmastide used to end on the Epiphany, which was formerly celebrated every 6th of January. It was then known as the Twelfth Night in the Twelve Days of Christmas. The Epiphany is now a moveable feast and is commemorated on the Sunday between January 2 and 8. The classic Christmas carol of the same title no longer holds true today.

 When the Americans came, the practice of gift giving was done not during Three Kings but during Christmas Day. They were the ones who first introduced the myth of Santa Claus sneaking in houses during the midnight before Christmas to put gift wishes in Christmas stockings specially hung for that purpose. Santa Claus, as many would agree, has become a symbol of the commercialization of the Christmas holiday. It has obscured Christ and The Nativity as the symbolic figure for many households. The Americans also introduced the Christmas tree. Christmas carols, such as Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, White Christmas, Winter Wonderland, to name a few, replaced the villancicos, Spanish hymns that were sung during special feasts such as Christmas, something most Filipinos are not familiar with.

It seems a commercial Christmas has become more of the norm for many, thanks to money-making establishments. What is good is, despite the hard times, both rich and poor Filipinos cannot miss celebrating Christmas. While the rich have their usual sumptuous meal, even the poor partake of a feast of homemade suman, bananas and other harvest and coffee, anything that could be shared with families and friends. We are proud to say that nothing can destroy the Filipino Christmas spirit. Even during the worst years of the Japanese occupation, the Filipino Christmas spirit prevailed.

We cannot help but be worried about thousands of OFWs losing their jobs, with many having to spend a penniless Christmas, unable to save before forced retirement. We urge both the rich who have plenty and the poor who have not, to take care not to forsake the true meaning of Christmas by celebrating it in the true Christmas spirit. Let us all show concern for the plight of our needy brothers and sisters and share with them what we can, not only “scattered bread from our table”, but out of the goodness of our hearts, the bounty that God gave us. We must remember that the Christmas spirit does not depend on the times or the bounty. We can actually make it even more meaningful when times are really hard.

We wish all our readers a meaningful and peaceful Christmas!