The cold breeze of December with the sun smiling sweetly on Earth. Christmas carols filled the air as they were played on those old big radio cassettes . Nature seems to rejoice with human kind, that those wild sunflowers with its vibrant hue colors the surroundings.
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Upon the entry of this year, it was filled with disasters. It has affected and broke everyone with its brutality yet seems disasters not gonna end as we welcome another new year.
The pandemic has everyone worried, anxious and trembling. That Christmas season was not something it had used to be (or so I thought). That's why I thought of writing this to atleast lighten the atmosphere we are in.
Christmas breaks usually took two weeks for schools before resuming on January. It was a long vocation. And one who was a kid growing up in a developing village, we don't have the luxury to make travels to spend Christmas. It was actually a season for preparing rice paddies for palay seedlings. We help our parents in doing so and not bothered by the very cold temperature. We have so much fun throwing mud instead of snow with each other. Sometimes we voluntarily go to the rice paddies with our siblings and friends to do the work while enjoying the fun of playing with mud and wild flowers in the meadow. We imagine ourselves playing with snow. Children as we were, we would like to catch snowflakes with our mouth and taste it as it melts in our mouth. Those playmates long time ago are now on the other sides of the planet and got to experience those we used to imagine.
On the night of December 22nd, youths from different churches go in group to sing carols from house to house. Cash accumulated were used for parlor games and other prizes on Christmas eve during a ceremony.
Before the 25th of the said month, kids collect bottle tin caps and flatten it, make hole at the middle of each cap and put it all together with a tire wire to make something like a tambourine.. We used it while we go carolling on the early hours of the morning on Christmas day, different age group go with their own circle of friends. We also use those gallon containers as drum while the youths go with guitars and tambourines.
I can remember that my mother always prepared baked goodies, some native glutinous rice delicacies and the macarani salad which we were only able to taste during these occasions.. It is what we share with our neighbors.
At midday, different groups young and old usually go to the riverbanks for a hearty picnic. Picnics were never absent from Christmas until the New Year. Because families who went to other places come home, reunions were also held. They always love the atmosphere in this small village which was lacking to the places where they are residing.
Christmas season was something that one really loves to come home to. Since our village used to be the place where one was not discriminated by his/her life status, that whenever you pass by a house you would hear one call you for a meal or coffee which was more observed during this holiday.
We don't hang christmas lights on our homes neither do we have Christmas trees (we have lots on of pinetrees on the mountains😅) to give radiance on our homes but the spirit is immense.
There are exchanging of gifts on Christmas eve and lots of games which the whole community really took part. So much fun and joy fill the heart of everyone.
Few years back, with the leadership of the barangay captain during that time organized a party for the whole sitio (where I was raised) to collect contributions per household for a cow to be butchered on Christmas. The village people have progressed due to their perseverance and hard work that many donate for other foods. We were used to playing gongs and dancing with it during merriments that it was always present.
It was a day filled with much happiness.
While others were enjoying the beautiful fireworks on New Year's eve, the village was peaceful with the same scene going on like that of Christmas.
These days, with protocols and tight situation we currently are in, it seems like Christmas would pass just like an ordinary day. Well I hope not, that at least families who are living close to each other would not be prohibited to come together.
May we all stay healthy and fit to be able to fight off the unseen enemy. And with hopes for 2021 to gain what we loss this year..
z_graeden
It seems more joyful there in the province because here in the city, it's basically every family for themselves except if your community woulf arrange a community Christmas party but those were never fun