Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Christmas Holidays - Pinoy-style!

You are a certified Filipino if you have done and observed (even ignored) the following at Christmas holidays :



1. On or before December 1, most of us already have a Christmas tree and "parol" (Christmas lantern) decorated at home.


2. Cram for the last hours, doing : gift shopping/wrapping, house cleaning/decorating, menu planning and food buying.


3. Says "patawad" (forgive) to Christmas carolers, upon hearing the first sentence of Christmas song - it simply means I don't have few pennies to spare. Ouch!


4. Hear the Midnight Mass or "Simbang Gabi" in the wee hours of the morning from Dec16-24, with family or friends. Most religiously followed this Filipino tradition...albeit, some stole few minutes of sleep.

5. Realize that clients, bosses and colleagues (some friends and relatives too) are amazingly, amusingly and miraculously bit sweeter or kinder than the usual, when dealt with.


6. Have weekly exchange gifts of small and quirky little "somethings", such as "something long and hard" or "something that you use with your hand"; before the Company's Christmas party.

7. Overuse credit cards to take advantage of Christmas sale in different stores and malls.


8. Haggle more often or learn to haggle ...especially to those people who don't do as such pre-Christmas season.

9. Tend to forgive and to forget (not totally) people who pissed us off for the past few days or weeks...simply because it's Christmas.


10. Note that fruits have become extra abundant ! Though some are not in season yet...
they become astonishingly available in the market....be local or imported!

11. Use firecrackers during New Years eve...as influenced by the Chinese tradition that it helps to keep away the bad vibes of the old year.


12. Ignore and accept sudden price increase or overpricing most of the goods in the market, particularly fresh, produce and canned goods...with or without national/global financial crisis.

13. Forget all kinds of diet regimen...to indulge all the decadent foods that we sometimes eat and drink rarely in a year.


14. Plan for a big family reunion, going to provinces to celebrate holidays with family and relatives.

15. Make an effort that food/menu served on the table are extra special, particularly during "Noche Buena" (Christmas Eve) and "Media Noche" (New Year's Eve)...despite
the financial or economic constraints.



*** Actually, here are just few things that we practiced and observed every Christmas holidays in our country. Though some Pinoys still do such even when they're overseas. Some are good and some are bad or not-so-bad, simply because that's how we really are and how we accept things. Nevertheless, we never fail to realize and accept that Christmas is surely the best time of the year. Time, when we feel richest...because of the perks and bonuses; we feel ottest...because of hours in the salon and dresses for the party; we feel most sociable...because we get to see long lost friends, family and relatives; we feel most generous...because we always make sure that people close in our heart have a gift or even token to show how we love and appreciate them.....and the list goes on.



Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to All!!!



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