First Holiday without Our Dad
2022 is about to end as the holidays are approaching. It’s the Christmas season guys and I know every one of us is busy trying to plan a great way to celebrate Christmas with our family.
Perhaps many of you have created a to-do list and listed all the foods you want to prepare this coming Christmas eve. Some may also book flights to celebrate the holidays out of town. Some think that it is best to stay at home and feel the presence of our dear Lord’s birthday in peace.
Yes, let us not forget the old tradition of “Simbang Gabi” a nine-day series of masses that usually starts on the 16th day of December and is usually executed at dawn, well that’s how it got its name. Probably this tradition was the reason for lots of other traditions being born such as the emergence of a rare rice cake in the Philippines called the “Puto Bumbong”- a purple-colored cylinder in shape rice cake, slightly sticky with a slightly sweet and bland flavor. Also, there is another delicacy called “Bibingka”, this rice cake is one of a kind, especially in the way it is being cooked.
All of this and that in holidays, as we think of it, we usually depict a happy family enjoying the season together. However, this is only true for other people. It’s not that we aren’t happy for this coming Christmas, but rather it’s the very first Holiday season that we will celebrate it without our father. We won’t and will never celebrate it with him again for he passed away just a few months ago. I know I’m not the only one, I know other people experience the same maybe some families have experienced losing someone they love on the very day of Christmas. How sad would it be? But why is it that we should be happy? Well, not because it’s the Lord’s birthday but because we all know that wherever our dear loved ones go, whether they are alive or not, they will always live inside our hearts, souls, and memories. Additionally, we know that during this Christmas, finally, they will celebrate this special day in heaven where Jesus Christ our savior welcomes us.
So, let us be happy for there are plans that the Lord has given to us, and maybe losing him/her is one of the steps to achieving that plan. Let us not forget that Christmas is not only for the living but also for the resting and undead souls, so let us pray for them and remember our lives together when they’re still with us.