Except for the Siberian winds from the Northeast called “hanging Amihan”, this month and the celebrations it hosts have many faces, both sad and happy. Whatever, there are still beautiful stories to relate that truly reflect the real spirit of the season.
One of them is a story about the Christmas truce between the English Army and German soldiers guarding the trenches on either side of an area considered “no man’s land” within Flanders fields.
There, on Christmas Eve in the trenches in Flanders fields in 1914, a young German voice suddenly began singing “Stille Nacht” (Silent Night) in the still of the freezing night. Soon, one by one, each German voice joined in harmony.
As soon as they were finished, there was a pause. Then, from across the trenches, a young English soldier sang out loud and clear “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen,” and the other English soldiers sang in harmony.
Then both sides sang “Silent Night” together in their respective languages. After a considerable pause the lone figure of a young German walked out between the trenches into “no man’s land.”
Then the soldiers on both sides slowly walked out to join him. The soldiers from opposing sides shook hands, hugged and traded chocolates, cigarettes, photographs, scotch and cognac. The Christmas carols resounded throughout the frozen fields of Flanders.
Soon daylight was upon them and with sad farewells they returned to the trenches to continue fighting. Although for a few hours, opposing soldiers were united as one to honor the birth of Jesus Christ with their songs. A sad but true story that happened before the First World War heated up to become a full-blown war.
Another story tells about how things attached to us are sacrificed for love. On a cold winter Christmas Eve, there was a family who lived in an old run-down apartment in the slums. The wife wanted to buy a chain for her husband’s damaged watch, but did not have enough money.
She was overwhelmed in panic that her Christmas would be ruined as she did not know what to do. So she kept thinking until she came up with an idea. She decided to sell her hair at the local salon.
She entered the salon and was quickly examined by the stylist who was surprised in not finding damaged hair. So the wife and the stylist bargained until the salon paid for the hair with money just enough to buy the chain.
She looked in the mirror and saw that her cut hair was not so good to look at, but she did not care and covered her head with a shawl. She purchased the watch chain, went home and sat quietly waiting for her husband to return from work.
When the husband came home, the wife saw that he had a smile on his face. After dinner, they sat next to the warm stove. The wife then pulled out the gift and gave it to the husband. The husband opened it but looked confused.
He was in tears when he saw the gift, because he had sold his watch to buy a gift for the wife. He pulled out his gift which was a hair brush for his wife’s delicate hair. So tears welled from the eyes of the wife and the husband.
The love within the family had proven that they would sacrifice anything just to see happiness upon their partner. Such stories show the real faces of December, the most widely accepted birth month of Jesus Christ.
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Initially celebrated by the Anglo-Saxons of Northern Europe, the Yuletide became popularly synonymous with Christmas in the modern age. It changed meaning over the centuries from a pagan holiday to a Christian celebration in December.
And so, we hang our old hats in preparation for the Yuletide celebration from December 21 to January 1. People decorate their homes, prepare food and gifts, and engage in merrymaking. But in the middle of the cheerful atmosphere, there are those who do not have the same privileges.
In many instances, I see underprivileged children peeking through fences of more prosperous neighbors partying in the garden, wishing that they too have enough food on their table on Christmas.
The season is for the less privileged but these days, a greater fraction of merrymakers have to be reminded that Christmas is more of a celebration of the birth of Jesus in a manger, and parties, gift-giving and food are secondary.
Christmas time also reminds us of the good and bad. The good for those who recall the joy that the season brings, and the bad for those who feel the sadness because their loved ones are no longer around to celebrate with them.
It is also quite terrible to watch celebrities on TV showing off their new shiny gifts. Watching them, I seem to find my condition more reduced. No matter how shiny the gifts are on TV, they only make the poor seem even poorer.
Everytime the Yuletide comes near, rich and poor children anywhere expect to receive gifts. Certainly, the well-off are more assured of that eventuality. Gift-giving as part of the Yuletide has been implanted wrongly in us since the start of Christianity. It should not have been at the outset because Christmas should not be associated with love for material things.
On the other hand, gift-giving as equated to Christmas unquestionably affects the resources of personalities running for positions in the 2025 midterm elections. They filed their certificates of candidacy last October but have yet to campaign in February.
The most affected ones are the persons who wish to become serious public servants but are open targets of solicitors who take advantage of the helplessness of political bets whose objective is to gather as many votes to win.
I do not know if La Trinidad citizens Thomas Abodiles, Rudy Acop, Silver Aben and Arthur Shontogan are in this category.
But wrong impressions about Christmas and how it is celebrated continue to be exposed in public. How do we check December’s woes?
