They say that Christmas is for kids, and I'd have to agree. Everything seems to be brighter and more joyful at Christmastime when you're a kid. Personally, most, if not all, of my best Christmas memories were from my childhood:
Hanging out with the gang. When we were very little and still living in Manila, we would go house-hopping during Christmas Eve. Our friends would come over our house and eat, then we would go to theirs and eat more food. That's at least 4 houses in one night, so it's one big food fest for us on Christmas Eve. After stuffing our faces, we would all hang out on the street and play with firecrackers. Oh yes, those were the days when we don't worry about getting our fingers blown off. Good times!
Go caroling with friends. We would make our own instruments- drums out of milk cans, and tambourines out of flattened bottle caps- and practice our Christmas repertoire days before our series of performances start. Of course, our 'repertoire' was limited to Ang Pasko Ay Sumapit, Joy To The World, We Wish You A Merry Christmas, Santa Clause Is Coming To Town and then our grand finale: "Thank You, Thank You, ambabait ninyo, thank you!". We would go from house to house in our village, and torture our neighbors until they give us the much-desired coins...er, cash. I don't remember now what we did with our loot, but probably these were spent on candies and more fattening junk.
Writing our Christmas wish list for Santa. I remember my sister and I writing letters to Santa and placing them in our socks (we didn't have Christmas stockings, sob sob) hung by our door. Although I believed in Santa then, I recall wondering how he'd give us our gifts when our house didn't have a chimney!
Getting lots of presents. Of course, Christmas gotta be about the presents when you're a kid! I loved going from one godparent to another, looking oh-so-cute and angelic, to collect my gifts: Rainbow Brite bag, Sailor Barbie, snazzy pencil box with lots of buttons and compartments, and most importantly, cold hard cash!
We've also made it very hard for our parents to keep our Christmas gifts a surprise. Whenever they leave for work, we would search all over the house to check if they got us the gift we wanted. Yes, early manifestation of our low EQs.
One year, when the small battery-operated piano (and piano pencil boxes, for that matter) were all the rage, we found 2 of these (colored pink and blue) hidden inside the closet. My sis and I asked our mom if these are for us, but she said these were for her goddaughters. We were disappointed so we did what any normal jealous kid would do, we secretly played with the pianos when my parents were away. Oh how we envied them, so lucky to be receiving this wonderful toy. And then we got caught red-handed, so my mom just 'fessed up out of frustration and said that they were really for us. We didn't play much with the piano after that. What with the danger and excitement now lost.
Watching the Christmas display at C.O.D. Every December in the 80s, C.O.D., a now-defunct department store in Cubao, would mount a moving mannequin presentation about the birth of Jesus Christ. I remember sitting on my dad's shoulders looking up at the store's facade and watch the show with wonder and amazement.
I wish someone could bring this tradition back as it's not only a good way for kids to learn the lesson of Christmas, but it also brings families together even for just a while.
Christmas has somehow changed for me now. It isn't as magical as it used to be, but I guess that's okay. It's not about having fun and getting lots of presents anymore, but instead it means celebrating with loved ones and remembering the true reason for the season- Christ.
A blessed Christmas, everyone!
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