Yep. . .

One of the many things that changed over time (not just because of the 2-year-star-of-a-virus-we-call corona) and is significant to me is how we celebrated Christmas and New Year.

I remember past Christmases when my aunts and uncles were still young and we crowd in the ancestral house in Manila to celebrate both occasions. It has always been a very fun party. Me being a kid, I loved having that freedom to be staying up late with the adults eating a lot and laughing a lot. I also liked receiving money and then dragging whichever tita or tito I can drag with me to the nearby market to buy any stuff with the monetary gift I received.

Psst! Check these people out!

I got reminded of the past because I have read some articles telling their stories of how they celebrated their Christmas 2021 and I was playing and doing checklists in my head. Stories and video clips of other friends in various social media also show their exciting celebrations.

And I cannot help but retrace the past to the now and be amused at how things changed or transformed leaving a smile on my face. Variations of celebrations are cool.

Food.

x Spaghetti/Lasagna - we used to have this. I cannot remember when this became less and less a member of the noche buena table but it faded out.

x Cake - my mom likes baking back then. Wait. She still likes baking. She got back to baking during the pandemic. And for a time, she and her grandson had fun baking cakes. We just did not have it this time.

x Ham (haha yes we did not have ham this time)

✓ Salad

✓ Fish dish / Meat (but not ham)

x Ice cream and coke - everyone is a coke drinker... Then. However, a big check now goes to..

✓ Coffee

Gifts.

x Exchange gifts

✓ Received gifts

x Gave gifts to everyone

Games.

Food, Gifts, Games. There have been changes in these three items. Way, way back, all my aunties and uncles did not have families of their own. So on both Christmas and New Year, everyone's present. That said, having a lot of food makes sense. We have a full army wielding their spoons and forks ready for the huge battle at midnight.

Then everyone had families of their own and had different and varying schedule on whose side to celebrate which occasion and the batallion slowly got smaller, hence, it is just right that the serving also got trimmed down. Preferences considered, some dishes were picked out and some no longer made it back to the menu.

Same goes with the gifts. We used to have exchange gifts because it was easier then to make sure everyone is present come giving time. Older and older and busier and busier. I hate busy. It ruined my time tracking for when to buy, wrap and give.

Ah, games! I have seen a lot of videos of families waiting for Christmas eve with lots of fun games and challenges. It made me smile. Ofcourse, the games I saw in video are already new ones.

Also, way, way back to get extra prize, entertaining the adults or sponsors will be the best way. Show your talent!

It was fun being able to look back and reminisce how we celebrated Christmas back then. And I guess even after this pandemic a lot of changes will still take place. Treasure every Christmas celebrations whether you celebrated it solo, simple, or grand.

Which reminds me, I am yet to see that Christmas or New Year spent else where - solo or with friends who also wants to dare break the "usual".

Cheers to Merry Christmas celebrations! Thank Jesus we are celebrating our lives every day because He came.

Let us still keep on praying for our friends recovering from the recent nature wreck.

Hola everyone! Still a busy bee even after the celeb and a lot more coming on my plate. Priorities get reshuffled somehow. I will be reading more and yes responding late, like a lot.

What's your story?

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