Another Christmas Away

Christmas Day, reading a book by the beach

Christmas in Kiwilandia still throws me off kilter even if it is my 2nd time around.

Here, the season brings in the hot summer, sunlight till 8:30pm, people frolicking barefoot and wearing their skimpier clothes. You roam the city and there are hardly anything that alludes to Christmas. Whatever decor you see usually has Santa in a singlet and board shorts riding a surfboard! To top all this, instead of the warm Christmas dinners, people plan Christmas BBQs!

Then Christmas day arrives and that's it. The day actually feels like Good Friday in Manila, where the streets are deserted, the shops are closed, and you know everyone's left the city for a nice summer break elsewhere.

Even the island girl in me is thrown for a loop.

Yes, Christmas in Manila can still get hot and muggy, but December is usually one of the coolest months we'll have in a year. The days are shorter, and we all get into the season with an overkill in decorations. 

I miss being able to drive around the city and gawk at the lights shaped into nativity scenes, color changing stars, or full on Santa, sleigh and reindeer displays.

I miss being able to go to any mall of my liking and know that every weekend there will be a shower of fireworks exploding sometime that evening. I also miss being stalked by Christmas Carols everywhere I go.

I miss being able to have puto bumbong, bibingka and the feasts we used to have at all the reunions we scheduled this time of year. 

Some people say its a bit pretentious, the way Filipinos do Christmas.We try to do it the Western way but don't really have the eggnog, mistletoe, Santa, or the snow to pull it off. But who cares? Filipino Christmases are all the more special for the overcompensation that we do - our flashy lights, giant plastic Christmas trees, and fake spray snow. Then top that off with traditions of simbang gabi, noche buena, our parols, and all that extended family and Christmas in the Philippines becomes something uniquely Filipino that the Pinoy will always find better than any other Christmas anywhere in the world.

A few days late, but Merry Christmas everyone and I hope this year you found your best Christmas ever.

Comments

  1. MELOmunchkinDecember 27, 2011 at 10:52 PM

    aww, Merry Christmas to you and Dennis too! Advanced Happy New Year! :D

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownDecember 27, 2011 at 11:19 PM

    Merry Christmas Melo! Will definitely let the D-man know and happy Happy New Year's too! :D

    ReplyDelete
  3. LaineDecember 30, 2011 at 4:33 PM

    True to that! I miss Christmas in the Philippines too. Here in Canada it's just too quiet. I miss waking up in the early mornings and feel that there's something in the cold air...and then hear Christmas songs echo from a nearby church, or feel the sweet smell of Filipino ham and tasty queso de bola.

    ReplyDelete
  4. hijadeninaJanuary 12, 2012 at 5:22 PM

    Just read this. Well put. I'm asking na if I can post next Christmas on my Facebook wall??

    ReplyDelete

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