Mind’s Eye View

Sigh, it’s that time of year again when plastic trees find  their ways into homes, fagged up with lights, balls, and other shiny things.  In the Philippines, where real conifers are rare and far too precious to cut down, the people have struggled to keep up with a western tradition by storming malls and cashing out on, among others, artificial spruces.

In this warm country, artificial pine wreaths and holly garlands, real or synthetic poinsettia bracts, felt stockings, styrofoam snowballs and plastic snowflakes, besides the ubiquitous Christmas tree, embellish the usual Filipino home at Christmastime. Yes, it’s winter wonderland on our sunny shores, and the only thing missing is a brick fireplace.  Spending fifty (50) Christmases in Hollywood has gotten things a little muddled for the brownman, who is perhaps blinded from the fact that it is suicidal for red-nosed reindeers to venture into tropical territory. Not to worry, we can always buy plastic Rudolphs in the mall or from street merchants everywhere. Oh yes, the wiggly-wobbly Santa Claus? It’s on top of Christmas must-haves this Season.

Lest I be accused of playing The Grinch on the Holidays, let me just point out that I, too, am a victim of this wintertime enormity. My family is and so are others.  We have fallen victim to 50 years under that great Western Hegemony, and to tell you frankly, I’m loving every bit of it! 

You see, while history has a clever   way of moulding cultures and preserving age-old traditions, it, too, has a fantastic way of acculturating varied foreign traditions and weaving them together to form a singular, unique, cultural phenomenon. And THAT, ladies and gentlemen, explains Christmas the Filipino way. 

After all, not one culture is as unique as it claims.  We are all part of this great ball of thread we call "world" whence everyone gets strands and strips and weave them into a tapestry suited to one’s own taste and preference.  Peoples of the world are so intertwined that even the sea gypsies (A.K.A., the Badjaos), whose language and nomadic culture are little-known, come ashore in their Nikes, Gaps, or Penshoppes to collect their yearly haul of Holiday goodies.

So, am I saying, "go ahead, deck your halls with boughs of holly, fa la la la la la la la la?"  Well, do as you please. As far as my family is concerned, the staircase at our home in Davao looks like it’s ready to collapse anytime with two arrays of artificial pine and holly garlands, interspersed with plastic golden drops, ribbons and blinking fairy lights.  Our home in Mandaluyong is all festooned with pine and holly garlands on the inside and covered with yards upon yards of fairy lights on the outside.

Tsk. Tsk. The thought reminds me of  poor Senator Jose De Venecia’s house, which decided to create a singe out of itself because nobody was watching its glorious light decors. Sad, it had to take young De Venecia’s life, too.  Maybe she, too, wasn’t watching.  Erratum:   De Venecia is NOT poor.

*Snifff* If there’s one thing we could learn from De Venecia’s fate, it is that if we turn on expensive light decors, especially indoors, someone should actually be watching them. Otherwise, turn them off. You know why? Because light decors can turn manic-deppressive when left alone and tend to become self-destructive and suicidal when nobody watches them.  As such, they are deluded to thinking they’re some sort of witch that has to be set on fire or something.  This, ladies and gentlemen, is information you cannot find anywhere else. So, thank me.

Well, anyway…

Our Christmas might be described as suffering from an utter lack of originality. Yuletide, taking its roots from western influences, is clearly a foreign element, what with our obvious lack of snow, hollies or mistletoes.  But more than the evident, Yuletide in the Philippines is not confined to the physical manifestations of Christmas. Christmas, to us, is a time not only of giving, but, hell yeah, of receiving presents. Tons of them.  It is not merely a time for celebration, but also for showing off our finest china and laying out our most expensive menu. It doesn’t matter if we wallow in penury for the rest of the year, at least for one time of the year, for at least one single time, we can take pride in what we have left. More than anything, it is a break from the monotony of widespread poverty and dirty politics during the rest of the year, and have an awful hell of a time.

Filipinos all around should know that History, for the most part, has not been kind to us.  But we should all realize that it’s not a time to lay blame on anyone.  After all, whining about our problems and tribulations is less desirable than opening presents on Christmas eve!

Maligayang Pasko Sa Lahat! Maayong Pasko Kanatong Tanan! And, oh yes, Happy New Year, too.