I remember how festive Christmas used to be when I was younger, from the decorations to the parties and the food. I remember decorating our house with vibrant Christmas ornaments months before Christmas day; I believe every Filipino family does the same. We decorated our stairs with green Christmas garlands and placed colorful ribbons and ornaments on them. We decorated the front door with a Christmas wreath that had a beautiful red bow. We also had a tall Christmas tree that had different themes every year: one year it was pink themed, and another year it was stuff-toy themed, which was my favorite. Our house looked so pretty, especially at night with the blinking, warm-colored lights all over the house. The grand decorations made me feel like Christmas was really near.
Christmas Caroling is a famous thing to do, especially here in the Philippines. I remember, when I was younger, that many children, including myself, would go house-to-house singing Christmas songs like “Ang Pasko ay Sumapit'' and “Sa Maybahay ang Aming Bati'' while playing hand-made tambourines made of tansans and makeshift drums made of large cans. We would sing, "Thank you, thank you, ang babait ninyo, thank you!”
After being given money for our usually unorganized and brief performance. We didn’t care how little we earned from doing that; all we really cared about was that people actually opened their doors and stopped to listen to us.
I remember, when I was younger, I attended many Christmas events—kid’s Christmas parties hosted by the company my parents worked for, parties hosted by family friends, parties hosted by relatives, and many more. The events had many games, and I won many prizes. I even remember winning a life-sized doll! I remember celebrating with all my family members and relatives. The house was surely lively with all of us together in a small home.
I remember when I was younger, I received many presents. The bottom of our Christmas tree used to be packed with different-sized gifts wrapped in colorful wrappers. I remember my eager anticipation for the clock to strike midnight so that I could open all my presents. I believed that gift-opening was the best part of Christmas—followed by the food, of course.
However, as I grew older, I noticed that things started to change. We no longer decorated our house as grandly as we used to; our family became too busy to do so. We no longer did Christmas caroling, and I noticed that there are fewer children in this generation who participated in this. As I grew older, we rarely went to Christmas events, and it was hard for the whole family to be complete during this season due to them being busy as well. Most importantly, I did not receive as many presents as I used to! I felt like Christmas was getting gloomier each year!
"Is this what Christmas will be like as I get older? If so, I don't want to grow!" This was a frequent thought in my mind. That is, until one Christmas, my parents decided to hold a morning devotion. We talked about how Jesus is the reason for the season. I grew up in a Christian household, so of course I knew that our focus should be on Him. However, with the way I prioritized the festivities and material things rather than doing so, did I really truly understand? During that Christmas, my perspectives and priorities on this significant event changed.
Yes, Christmas is not as it was. Before, material things that made the holiday season festive were all that mattered to me. But now that a new Christmas season is approaching, I am aware of something that is more crucial: family bonding that prioritizes time to remember that Jesus is the main reason for the celebration—and that is what we should always remember.
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