I have been getting emotional the past days knowing that Christmas is just around the corner. This will be my first Christmas away from my parents. This will also be my first Christmas away from home. Home as I define it now is Manila. I will have my first Aussie Christmas. Friends and family who have been here in Sydney has been warning us that Christmas here is different from our “Paskong Pinoy.” Well, I agree with them. Even if my family didn’t migrate here in Australia, I must say that the spirit and the entire celebration of Christmas in the Philippines is truly one of a kind. What makes it truly unique? Well, for one, we start celebrating it by the time our calendars hit the first day of September. Yup, the “ber” months is the signal that soon we’ll be hearing the choirs sing Christmas melodies, the radio stations playing the Christmas songs, tiangges in every nook and corner of the city, puto bumbongs and bibingkas. Second, it is unique because of our Simbang Gabi or dawn masses. Who cares if people really didn’t understand a word the priest said in his sermon? As long as they can tell my friends that they were up and about at 4am to perfect their attendance in the Simbang gabi, they are in. Third, people are becoming unusually generous. Well, it’s sad that people’s generosity is just seasonal, but then again, let’s be thankful that even if for a short period of time, more people cared, more people shared, and more people loved. Now who wouldn’t miss celebrating Christmas at home? No wonder almost all OFW’s would want to book a flight back to Manila by December.
Well, I have to face the harsh truth that this year will be different. I gave in to my emotions a couple of days ago, but I have to snap out of it, soon. Yes, I will terribly miss celebrating it with my closest friends and family, but I also have to move on. So now, I am actually thinking of ways so I won’t miss our Paskong Pinoy. Here’s my list:
1) Busy myself with a lot of work. That means household chores, mommy duties and wifey duties.
2) Finish the teacher’s manual for the textbook I co-authored with a friend.
3) Look for work or a part-time job.
4) Improve my blogsite and hopefully earn from it soon.
5) Get in touch with old friends thru FB.
6) Catch up on my reading.
7) Organize all pictures taken for the year.
Oh well, I can’t run away from it. Even if I’m here in Australia, the Christmas bug will definitely hit me, so just the same, I’d do some things that are Christmas related. So to continue with my list, I will:
8) Play my Christmas CDs on the radio.
9) Start shopping for Christmas gifts for family and new friends based here in Australia.
10) Wrap presents.
11) Put up the Christmas tree
12) And hey, my son is turning 2 as well, so I might as well start preparing for his 2nd birthday party
13) Eat and be merry.
Yup, I’ll eat my heart out and celebrate! I have to be happy with what I have now. There’s no use if I continue being sad. Now to fully convince myself, I have to realize and tell myself that the fact of the matter is Christmas is all about Christ. It doesn’t matter where I am or who I’m with. Christmas should go beyond the “feeling”, the gifts and the superficial things. The harder question now is, can I convince myself? =D
