What I Want For Christmas

By Aliene Pearl Condez

I could still clearly recall how I’ve spent my Christmas way back 15 years ago.

                The sky was slowly turning orangey-red as the sun sets and the meadow was joyfully explored by me together with my cousins. We have spent our afternoon catching grasshoppers and chasing dragonflies. Before the sun bids its final goodbye, our mothers called to give us a thorough bath to wash off the dirt which was ‘drenched-with-sweat-after-playing-in-the-sun’ smell.

We were all giddy then, especially me. I couldn’t wait for the clock to strike twelve! After getting ready to bed and putting my sock to the highest, exposed space possible because we don’t have a chimney for Santa Claus to climb into, I uttered a short prayer of thanksgiving just as what Grandma told me to.

                Alas, the clock stroked twelve!

It was time to wake up and see what Santa brought for me! Chocolates and toys stunned me after I’ve opened my sock. Oh, just as what my little heart desired. It made me happy that Christmas eve. Then, Mamang, Papang and me would share a simple Noche Buena of a loaf bread, peanut butter and a cold bottle of soft drinks. There will be carolling and the Misa de Gallo. Families filled the church in thanksgiving of the whole fruitful year that passed. It was a joy to watch. My eyes used to glitter with happiness at those times.

But what happened now?

I honestly could fathom what Christmas really means. It doesn’t have the same atmosphere that it held before. As years pass by, people looked for new things.

 New things that would add colour to their holiday season. Advertisements suggest ‘You’d be happy to spend your holiday with this product, buy now!’  So we are tempted to buy those stuffs. Holiday Big Sale even made their offer more enticing as they already are. Disappointingly, we embraced the trend and even think that those material things could make our Christmas complete.

Where’s mama and papa?

Most of the Filipino parents now decided to work abroad in order to give their children the brightest possible future.

Yes, my mother is an OFW and she earns good enough for all of us. We could now afford delicious, sassy meals for holidays and can shop for new clothes. We are ‘lucky’ in the standards of the society.

But are we really ‘lucky’?

If being lucky, as this society says, is waking up without mother to prepare your meals, teaching you life’s lessons, guiding you through puberty and her absence during special occasions, and eating good food on holidays while she works hard in a foreign country, I’d rather go back to way things ‘used’ to be.

For years now, instead with our parents, my siblings and I had celebrated Christmas in our relatives’ house. I don’t want to sound sad this season, but my heart feels empty and that can only be filled with the presence of my parents. So, let’s appreciate the presence of our family even without excessive food and gifts. Let’s learn to spend Christmas with contented hearts and smiling faces for simply being together.