Light a star

In our everyday undertaking, we always search for a light. A light for enlightenment for the decisions we are making. A light when we are in the dark, or in the darkest of our lives. When we search for the truth, we look for the light.

It is an instinct to look for a light when one is in the dark. When one is in dire hopelessness, he would look for a respite. When one is lost, searching for a direction becomes an intuition. We want to see the light.   

For a couple of years, I have been a judge to Christmas lantern making contests. The recent one was The Freeman's Light-A-Star Year 6: On the Spot Lantern Making Contest in which various students from elementary and high schools competed in what could be a display of creativity and ingenuity among them using recyclable and indigenous materials. 

A common sight every Christmas, a lantern or paról is an ornamental, star-shaped Christmas lantern. Materials may vary, but the structures of the parol still resemble the first one made historically. Some use several beads and other still with those indigenous materials. As of now, even our national institutions, schools, malls, other establishments and most especially churches do make use of this pattern, but with modernized materials. Perhaps for economic reasons, it is made of whatever materials readily available within our sight but traditionally made out of bamboo and paper and comes in various sizes and shapes, but generally the basic star pattern remains dominant.

We are a country full of passion for the Christmas celebration. We feel Christmas is in the air if we can see lanterns hanging in most houses. Lantern may be just a little thing but it has historical and picturesque value for us.

The star as a representative of Christ's light, the Star of Bethlehem, that serves as a guide to the Magi to find the newborn Christ is the same star that still exists in the present time as we continue to seek Him in our lives. When we are burdened with problems and the world seems to be dark and gloomy, we struggle to search for that light by communicating with God through prayers. And as we walk with God, the light will always guide us.

It is also a symbol for hospitality, parols are hanged because the people in their houses often intend to have visitors during the Christmas Season, whom they treat with much care and attention. Finally, the parol is a symbol of the Filipino's longing for hope, peace and happiness because the people who remember Christmas in any way such as decorating their houses also remember the meaning behind the commercial overtures and gift-giving so peculiar to this season.

Nothing reminds me more of a Pinoy Christmas than the archetypical parol. Unlike any other ornament, the parol holds a special place in every Filipino's heart. The truth that the light of goodness will reign victorious over evil, which is characterized by the parol's symbolic wisdom, is something all Filipinos can find solace in during times of hardship.

Filipinos may certainly perceive the parol as a sign of hope, leading us toward a more enlightened spiritual path. As Christmas is known as the "feast of light", the Light of the World, the Rising Dawn, the Light to be revealed to the Nations (Luke 2, 32), Jesus Christ is born. 

But in areas badly hit by the typhoon and earthquake, it can also mean dark evenings for sans or lack of light. The light they are in constant search of. It could also mean the prevailing hopelessness in the victims' hearts. My ardent hope that this Christmas we be the light to everyone, guiding someone who is searching for the right way. We can be the star to light the way of others. Let us light the star in each one of us for its glow will guide and bring hope to others.