My favorite time is always the Christmas season. It’s the time of the year when every one seems to be more giving, happier and more forgiving. Personally, I believe the best Christmas for me is now because I know I was able to breeze through the stormy phase in my life and found the peace and true happiness that I have long been praying for.
Florence Ko, owner, FurnItalia
Every Christmas is very memorable to me because the 24th is our wedding anniversary, so every year is a double celebration. There isn’t a particular Christmas that’s most memorable for me because each one is special. During this time of the year, I always look forward to being together as a family because for the entire year everyone is so busy with their own work and activities. Treasuring every moment together and spending time with one another are the most precious ones.
Krista Kleiner, Bb. Pilipinas International 2010/singer
My most memorable Christmas was a few years ago. It was the first Christmas I went back home to California to celebrate with my family after moving to the Philippines. Prior to my moving to the Philippines I had never spent the holidays away from them. After not seeing them for over a year I had a whole new appreciation of being able to share Christmas with them...and I cherished every second.
Ramon B. Mitra, former marine captain
My most memorable Christmas was back in my first year as a cadet in the Philippine Military Academy. It was the first time I was away from my family for the holidays and our noche buena consisted of arroz caldo and nothing else. But this coming Christmas will top that, as this will be the first noche buena without my mother, Cecilia Mitra, who just passed away last Dec. 10. She made sure every Christmas was better than the last for all her children and apos. Her house decor was already up by November, and her Christmas tree filled with gifts. Mommy will be in our thoughts and in our hearts forever.
Chit Lijauco, managing editor, Tatler Philippines
One Christmas Eve, when trains were still a popular mode of transportation, my father took me to Manila (we were living in Laguna) as a treat. My mother wasn’t happy. She worried that we’d be late for Christmas Eve dinner, but my father and I left anyway and had a great time shopping. We boarded the train with plenty of time to reach home but the worst of bad luck, our ride was delayed for hours for some technical reason. We came home late for Christmas dinner after all, but not for noche buena!
Pops Fernandez
When my two boys Ram and Robin were still babies. It really felt like Christmas. So nice to see them so excited about Santa. They would peek and check out the gifts waiting till they could open them.
Michelle Dinglasan Tomacruz, chef
My most memorable Christmas is a toss-up between Christmas of 1995 and 2006. In 1995, I was a culinary student in New York so I had to spend Christmas with my friends. Although it was fun, it made me realize how much I missed my family back home and that Christmas for me should be spent with family. Christmas 2006 was equally memorable as it was the first time my husband and I spent Christmas as parents to our firstborn.
Alexandra M. Eduque, chair and founder, Habitat For Humanity Philippines Youth Council Move.Org Foundation Inc.
My most memorable Christmas ever was in 2007 because it was the last Christmas of my late grandmother, Chito Madrigal. As the matriarch of the family, she was also one of the most generous and selfless people I know, who always made it a point to prioritize her family and cater to the needs of everyone. Attending to everything meticulously — whether it was an ordinary Sunday lunch or the birthday celebrations of all her grand nephews and grand nieces, Sunday lunches, noche buena — she had a way of making each and every one of us feel special. That Christmas, not knowing it would be her last, we simply wanted to give her a truly special present. Weeks before Christmas Eve, everyone gathered together for hours at a time to practice and put together a show for her. Simply seeing everyone concert their efforts, and give their best to a woman we truly love and admire was heartwarming, and is a memory I will always remember. While Christmas is always special because it’s time spent with family, there simply hasn’t been one like that, and as I look back, I feel blessed. I will forever be grateful and thankful to have those memories to hold on to, and the values tita Chito has instilled in me to live by for the rest of my life — the greatest of which is to bring with me and practice the spirit of Christmas every day — in giving, in sharing my blessings, and in loving wholeheartedly.