Today is the eve of the greatest and most joyful event in human history, the birth of Jesus Christ our Savior. But the joy of the occasion has not yet sunk deep, nor has it been truly felt by most of us. How hard really it is to have a Merry Christmas amidst the pandemic that we are now experiencing for almost the whole year, together with some devastations in our country that brought so much grief and pain to our countrymen. Harder yet is having Christmas parties while most of our countrymen suffer not only the tragic loss of lives but also the harshness of living in poverty and want for being unable to work.
Real joy also eludes us because we tend to look at the occasion from its purely materialistic aspect, brought about by too much commercialism and the heavier traffic during these times. We are now more swayed by the modern ways of celebrating the event where Santa Claus and his reindeer have replaced the Belen or the Nativity Scene as the more popular Christmas decor, where children are more fascinated with the fictional figure of a roly-poly man in red and white costume than the baby Jesus in the manger, where more stories are woven around the magical voyages of jolly good old Santa with his bag full of toys rather than the arduous trek of Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem, and where the more popular Christmas carols are “Jingle Bells” and “Santa Claus is coming to town” instead of “Adeste Fideles” and “Joy to the World.”
Of course, there are also some traditional practices serving as symbols of the deeper and real meaning of Christmas which have been preserved despite the growing commercialization of the event. It is just a matter of properly appreciating them, particularly the putting up of Christmas lights or the parol, with the Nativity Scene, the Noche Buena along with the sharing of gifts.
The putting up of the Christmas lights and the Nativity Scene symbolizes the birth of Christ our Savior 2021 years ago when the people who live in darkness have seen a great light (Isaiah 9:1). Whether the lights are as glittering and multicolored as the lights at the parks, the streets and some homes in posh subdivisions, or the simple candles and parols flickering in the dark countryside, they both convey the deeper meaning of Christmas – if they are seen as Christ who is the light of the world.
Exchanging Christmas gifts, on the other hand, is a meaningful sign of a special kind of love on Christmas time – the love of God who sent His only begotten Son to show us how we can share eternal life of bliss with Him after our worldly existence. This is an occasion for us to remember Christ’s message that, more important than the value of the gift, is the intention to share our blessings more especially with the least of our brethren. Giving gifts to the poor and sending aid to disaster victims or simply helping in the relief operations are perfect examples of this kind of love shown to us by God on Christmas Day.
Feasting and partying at Christmas time is not really wrong if done to symbolize our love and acceptance of one another as we break bread together during the Noche Buena, a beautiful custom of celebrating love within the family. This is a tried and tested practice of keeping the family together and strengthening family solidarity. It should be preserved despite the onslaught of modernism.
But of course, the most important tradition that we should preserve is the giving of gift to the birthday celebrant Himself. This is the birthday of Jesus so we have to give him something that will reciprocate the love he has shown us by dying on the Cross so that we may have eternal life.
First of all, we should get rid of our crab mentality, our kanya-kanya attitude. We should get rid of greed and envy by preferring the common good over and above our selfish interests. We should try to suppress our insatiable wants so that there will be a more equitable distribution of our country’s wealth and resources.
Secondly, we should strengthen our love of God and country, the sense of delicadeza, humility, simplicity, integrity, industry, frugality and the courage to stand up for truth and justice.
Thirdly, we should refrain from giving undue attention and publicity to negative events, scandalous happenings, immoral acts, ugly rumors. They only make celebrities out of scoundrels that sometimes even enable them to win in elections because of name recall.
Fourthly, we should reform the conduct of our business by combining profit motive with social responsibility so that employees and workers are treated more humanely through more generous and just compensation.
Finally, the best gift perhaps that Jesus wants from us this Christmas is the reformation of our politics by getting rid of politicians who continue to rule our country through patronage, money, machinery, popularity and name recall. This can be achieved not by automation of our election but through education of our voters so that qualified people will have access to opportunity for public service.
Admittedly these ideal gifts seem like a dream. But more things are wrought by prayer than this world can dream of.
SISON’s greetings and a truly Blessed Christmas to all!
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