Belenismo

CEBU, Philippines - Christmas celebrations as early as September make me sad. This practice, hyped up by the objective to push consumerism over the aspiration to be drawn back to the “story of the manger” and to understand deeply the purpose of His nativity, dangles before me again this frequently asked question: Where is Christ in all of these?

Another is that it is in this season that we Christians love to observe practices far from what we profess. For example, if Jesus is indeed the focus of Christmas because of His unconditional love for humanity, then why do we have to use Santa Claus (or St. Nicolas) as a symbol for generosity? Isn’t Christ’s love, compassion and mercy enough?

Good thing Tarlac has emphasized how important the story of the manger is with its advocacy on Belenismo. The Belen is the perfect symbol for Christmas. Bethlehem is “Belen” in Spanish. It means “house of bread” in Hebrew.

We, who have long claimed to be Catholics, know what bread does in supporting natural life. The Belen is a metaphor of what Christ does in “supporting and nourishing the new, Divine, spiritual life.” We have long ago been taught that the Belen should be at the core of our Christmas celebration.

Why Bethlehem specifically? Because it was written in the Book of the Prophet Micah: “Bethlehem Ephrathah, you are one of the smallest towns in Judah, but out of you I will bring a ruler for Israel…he will rule his people with the strength that comes from the Lord…”

By the way, Belenismo which is a project to transform Tarlac as the “Belen Capital of the Philippines” was launched by Isabel Cojuangco-Suntay, sister of former Ambassador Eduardo Cojuangco Jr., president of the Tarlac Heritage Foundation.

It was started in 2007 with five categories - personal, grand, monumental, municipal and diorama. The Tarlac Police Office Belen, built by at least 24 policemen, won the first prize that year.

Recently, it has announced of another Belen Making Competition dubbed “The Art of Making Belen” or the representation of the Nativity Scene depicting the Holy Family - Joseph, Mary and the infant Jesus. Shepherds came to adore the infant; and though there are still arguments as to the authenticity of the presence of “kings”, we have learned that magi visited the manger who found their way there through the guidance of a star, as written in the Gospel of Matthew: “…and on their way they saw the same star they had seen in the East. When they saw it, how happy they were, what joy was theirs! It went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was.”

Clearly, the passage tells us that the manger is a river of mirth for us wanting to make sense of Christmas.