aside from my birthday, christmas has always been my fave holiday (yes, my birthday is a holiday, a personal holiday :) ). when i was young, i loved it because christmas meant trees, decorating the tree, making snow angels, snowball fights (rarely do i get into one because we weren't really allowed to play outside), fantastic lawn decorations, santa in the malls, the presents and so much more but most of all, i loved waking up and seeing our snow-covered lawn, unblemished with footprints, human or otherwise :)
when i came to the philippines, christmas took on an entirely different meaning. christmas starts on september one because it ushers in the BER months (septemBER, octoBER...get it?). nowadays, i get more text messages on september 1 than i do on december 25 (how's that for trivia? :)) in the states, there's still halloween and thanksgiving before christmas but here, there's only all saints and all souls day on november 1 and 2 so you can just imagine how early houses start bringing out the tree and wreaths. then you have your bibingka and puto bumbong vendors outside churches making your stomach growl with the aroma of those goodies and of course, the simbang-gabi. you really know it's christmas
in the malls, it gets crazy as well. i took pictures of landmark's area for christmas decorations at the ground floor. although there are more decorations in the home section of the department store, they of course, brought some of the stuff downstairs in the selling area right smack in the middle.
main thoroughfares in the city, ayala avenue, edsa, gilmore (where the spectacular lanterns are on display and are for sale...) even north avenue already have the christmas lights and decor in place. it really does lend some christmas cheer to an otherwise bleak outlook what with the economic setbacks everyone is facing
*sigh* it is christmas and i cannot avoid it. neither can i avoid feeling so sad about the season. up until 4 years ago, like i mentioned, it was my favorite season. now, it just reminds me of so much sadness and loneliness. this year, will i begin to look forward to christmas with anticipation? will i feel the excitement, happiness and cheer again? i know you're going to say that the true reason why we celebrate christmas goes beyond our personal burdens or situations. i know, but i'm just ... human.
