For most people, Christmas is a season of joy, peace and giving.
I don’t know why the Christmas spirit is so strong that throughout this holiday season, people are becoming more generous and kind; they will move heaven and earth just to be with their families.
Never mind if the plane fares are exorbitant, Filipinos will be hell-bent on visiting the Philippines. For overseas Filipinos and other Balikbayan, nothing can stop them from looking forward to spending their Christmas with their families, relatives and friends.
How does this Christmas spirit affect the people in general?
One time my family and I were in one of the biggest malls in Toronto. We couldn’t help noticing the rush of people shopping—and who could resist the stores’ big discounts given to consumers and buy- one, take-one offerings by the various establishments in the mall? Some malls have even extended their shopping hours just to accommodate last-minute shoppers.
I don’t know how these businesses could cash in on people’s buying splurges and sprees; maybe they are just being generous in sharing their blessings with their customers.
Possibly, in the past months, they have raked in enough profits, so this holiday season is the right time for them to offer huge discounts to their loyal customers. Is this what they call responsive capitalism?
Most people themselves are also extra generous; At some supermarkets close to our home in Scarborough, I’ve seen people donating food packages for Toronto’s Food Banks. Salvation Army volunteers are in some malls and big stores busily manning their donation-drop-in stations, accepting contributions from people.
In the Philippines, most private companies have already given their employees their Xmas bonuses.
Well, this Christmas holiday is the time of the year when the country flows with milk and honey—and everyone is in high spirits.
This holiday season is really a time for peace because traditionally, the Communist rebels and the government have been forging a ceasefire agreement, which means that hostilities would cease even for a few weeks. A respite from battles would give these rebels and army soldiers a chance to enjoy a worry-free atmosphere with their respective families.
In our country, the Christmastime starts in November, so from this period onward, our
kababayans are always all smiles, always greeting everybody with “ Merry Christmas”. And when December comes, the prices of prime commodities go sky-high. Who cares when the season’s spirit calls for wearing one’s Sunday’s best and putting the most sumptuous food for the family’s Noche Buena and Media Noche? Pinoys would always go the extra mile to buy the best stuff for their families, saying “It’s Christmastime, everybody deserves to be happy”.
Despite these commodities’ high prices and other social issues, street demonstrations are temporarily shelved to give way to the joyous celebration of the season. The Makibaka spirit and other protest actions are put off.
Historically, all the EDSA revolutions and other military uprisings– except the 1989 military coup against former President Corazon Aquino—have been staged after the Christmas holidays. Filipinos in general would not want to destabilize the spirit of Christmas.
So any sitting president can rest assured that there would not be any destabilizing manoeuvrings that could come either from the civilian demonstrators or from the military during the Christmas season. The people take to heart that Christmas is a time for joy, happiness and peace.
What happens now after the short-lived holiday season, would Juan, Pedro and Ben do their old bad ways again, businessmen exploit their workers, violence rule the streets, and rebels and soldiers start annihilating each other again?
What about the people’s greed and mistrust, would it become the order of the day, philandering husbands go back to their mistresses’ loving arms and their legal wives suffer in silence, and cops extort hapless people?
My dear readers, we need more than the yearly celebration of Christmas to make us a good person—and we need something better than Christmas to attain peace and happiness in this uncertain and stressful world.
For our meditation and reflection, I would like to conclude my article with God’s words from the Bible:
“17.This is what Jehovah says, your Repurchaser, the Holy One of Israel:
“I, Jehovah, am your God,
The One teaching you to benefit yourself,
The One guiding you in the way you should walk.
18. If only you would pay attention to my commandments!
Then your peace would become just like a river
And your righteousness like the waves of the sea.
19. Your offspring would be as many as the sand
And your descendants as its grains.
Their name would never be cut off or annihilated from before me.”
–Isaiah 48:17-19