IT’S THAT TIME of the year again!
In the Philippines, once the “ber” months start rolling in, you see little Santas and snowmen being displayed.
Shop windows are frosted with white “snow”, Christmas songs serenade malls. It’s like a cute Pinoy tradition.
However, did you know that people abroad are also starting to adopt it? Maybe not as early as September, but at around mid-November people are already feeling the Christmas spirit. The same Santas and snowmen are displayed in the stores here and you hear their own carols playing on the radio.
Did you notice something in common with both?
The “spirit” is everywhere! Most of all with the storeowners that benefit the most from it. Overpriced decorations, food, and airline tickets, and vacation spots that give no value to their employees’ duties to the family since they have to stay open because of tourists.
These businessmen have used the excitement of an early Christmas to their benefit. It is truly the season of joy for them since this is when they get the most money!
For those earning minimum wage, they just have to content themselves with a platter of pale spaghetti and maybe a bantam lechon manok.
Gone are the days when Christmas was really about family. When all your relatives would come home and you would have fond memories. When you would actually feel joy after hearing Christmas carols and seeing the decorations.
Now, all those things are just a bitter reminder of how expensive and difficult things are during Christmas. Even families don’t flock together as much as before. “Work, expensive tickets, fights”…these are all the usual reasons why the noche buena table has shrunk.
It is sad that we have lost the true spirit of Christmas. A season that used to be about love and family has become a season about money. Now, the only ones who are truly Merry are the Consumerists./PN
