Pre-Christmas Musings

It is often said that the Philippines hosts the longest celebration of Christmas, with festivities starting as early as September and lasting until the Feast of the Three Kings in January.

I love this time of the year for its cool weather and color. My family started putting up our Christmas decor late October, even before Halloween. Just recently, we finished placing fairy lights outdoors, to the delight of our dog Gordo who started licking them right away. Of course my mom shooed him away, and gave a new rule that the dog was to be tied when he would be let out in the garden. Gordo remains free to roam the backyard, so no problem.

My fondest memory of Christmas past was when I discovered the lengths to which my parents would go to uphold the whole Santa Claus myth [to the kids out there, no peeking at the succeeding sentences please]. I remember accidentally seeing my mom and aunt wrapping my most awaited Barbie Doll. When they successfully put me back to bed, I am awakened hours later with the same Barbie lying at our doorstep near a couple of suspicious looking footsteps that my mom claimed were Santa's.

Lately, although I do not get the same excitement over getting gifts at Christmas as when I was a kid, I enjoy buying and wrapping presents for friends and family. My list this year has partly been completed, and I look forward to crossing everybody off the list on my one-week mandatory leave this last week of November.

In case you are wondering, it is barely 47 days before the Big Day so get started on your list as well!