December is usually the month of sharing, exchange gifts, Christmas songs, cold weather, family reunions, out of towns, Christmas parties, kickoff parties, buying of new clothes, bonus, and 13th month pay. It is the season of spending for some. And most common to children is the presence of Santa Claus.
I grew up believing that Santa Claus is riding a sleigh with reindeers just like in the movies. It was the sweetest lie in my childhood. I even fought with my grade 6 teacher insisting that Santa Claus is real and he’s dropping some of the items on my wish list every December. It was a flashback of my younger days that made me love December.
December always excites me. There are butterflies in my stomach every time I thought of it. We were always complete and we travel hours to go home to my mother’s hometown. We usually travel at dawn to avoid too much traffic. My mother would embrace us with blankets because we really can feel the breeze of December. We usually don’t take a bath anymore because the water really feels like it just came out from the fridge. During that travel, I loved stopovers. We always bring baon so it’s a planned picnic every time we to go to our grandparents’ house.
After the visit to my mom’s place, one of the most exciting parts of my childhood is Santa Claus. My parents would always ask us to make a wish list of what we wanted but not those expensive ones. I remember we didn’t really have this Santa socks. We usually hang cellophanes in our balcony with our wish list in it. Before December ends, our cellophanes will be filled with stuffs. And the funny part is that most of the things are not written on our wish list. We always get apples inside. So the smell and even just the look of an apple reminds of Christmas.
Before I finish elementary, one December night, my sister woke me up and said, “Come Santa Claus is here.” My sleeping little body rushed down the stairs. I saw a huge moving thing covered with blanket and my sister said that he is Santa Claus. I just need to take off the blanket to see. I was amazed that it was big. I imagined it was a floppy big guy because of the shape. It scared me a bit to remove the cover. My little hands were shaking with excitement but then when I looked down, I saw the footwear of the thing and it was my dad’s slippers. My sister and brother then started laughing. I knew it. It was my dad and mom covered with the blanket. I didn’t take the time anymore to remove the cover. I’d like to say it was loveliest prank in my life. I had no idea I had been living with my Santa Claus.
I had cheerful memories during Christmas and I always still get excited every time this season of the year comes. I already have my own kids and I am playing as their Santa Claus as well. And I wanted to make joyous memories for them not just to have fun but to appreciate what we have. We may say “sana all” when we are envious but being satisfied of what you have and being able to survive, that will make you a great individual already.
Christmas is not just to share, give and receive. It also to value and appreciate the blessings given to us and also to know the essence of saving. Christmas is not really to celebrate the birthday of Jesus Christ but to thank Him for his existence. For most Christians, it is a celebration of gratitude and appreciation for he became our Savior. Every individual has their own definition of Christmas and the best gift we can give to each other is respect.
May 15, 2024
