Christmas!
I am surprised that no kids have yet roamed our village to ask for New Year giveaways, in cash (or coins) and in kind. As far as I can remember it, as soon as December 26 comes, hordes of kids (and adults) knock at hour house, without fail, and greet us with their usual “Happy New Year, po!” in exchange for some coins or food. Children have indeed grown wiser nowadays, realizing that Christmas and New Year are two separate holidays, from which they could benefit. I bet that some of the children who do their usual “rounds” in New Year are the very same children who render us two to three stanzas of unrehearsed Christmas carols and then immediately ask for money. Unfortunately, it is hard to tell these kids apart. This Christmas season, I must have ignored or turned away about 10 groups of children who have regaled us with Christmas tunes since the start of the Simbang Gabi. I was tempted to be generous to two particular groups who sung Simbang Gabi (yes…the one which starts with Simbang gabi...simula ng Pasko) and an ABS CBN song whose title I forgot (the song goes: Ang Pasko ay kay saya, kung ikaw ay kapiling na). I was simply glad that they were not singing old and familiar tunes, which I have grown tired of. In fact, I was mildly impressed that the first group sung Simbang Gabi. I would have given them P10 if they had sung it from “Ikalabing-anim ng Disyembre…” Or if they had sung and reached the high notes of the part “At ang lamig ay lubhang matindi.” But still I was impressed And if we were not eating dinner at that time, I would have given them something. I liked the second group who sung the ABS CBN song because they sung it “with feelings”, as if they were singing for Little Big Superstar. Other groups of carolers were not as good and not as lucky. In fact, I told one group that “Hindi na kami makakain na kakakanta ninyo!” Sine the carolers that night came to our house one after the other because Mama gave them old but unused stacks of glow-in-the-dark Pokemon stickers apart from coins. After that, our house became an instant hit among carolers.
If we (cousins) are to re-stage “A Christmas Carol”, which we presented many Christmases ago, I would have been a shoo-in for the role of Uncle Scrooge. I was less grouchy when we did the play, so I lost the role to my cousin Joanne (yep, she’s a girl), who was perceived more suplada as I was suplado. Instead, I played the Ghost of the Christmas Past (perhaps because I was a large kid and was one of the oldest in our batch). I doubt if I would have been warmer and kinder to carolers had I not been reading and digesting cases about common carriers and their duty to exercise extraordinary diligence over the goods and passengers they transport, for my Transportation Law class. (common carriers, puro na lang common carriers! O nga pala. Common carriers are persons, corporations, firms, or associations engaged in the business of transporting passengers or good, or both, by land, water, or air, for compensation, offering their services to the public.)).
The Ghost of Christmas Past seemed to have tapped my back and made me remember that I was once a caroler too who perhaps pestered and disturbed homes in San Juan (especially Tita Rhoda’s na hindi pa namin kilala noon). Pero iba kasi noon. What I hate about caroling these days is that it has somehow been degraded to “begging” and a money-making activity. In fact, some children do not sing at all. The simply tell you “Namamasko po!” as early as December 1 and expect to given something in return for their simple greeting. During my time, we were never concerned about the money (or how many Bazooka Bubblegum or RC Cola-which was cheaper than Coke- can we buy with our earnings). We regarded the aguinlados that we would receive merely as a bonus. We genuinely wished people a merry Christmas. We came to people’s homes well-rehearsed and equipped with our improvised instruments. What kept me, my brother and our cousins, caroling year after year (at least for me) was simply the joy of singing (naks!), the fun that comes with the preparations, and the thrill of being out in the streets at night, unaccompanied by adults.
We may not admit it, (hehe) but my cousins and I simply loved to perform and we were actually good, having been honed by the perennial coaxing of our parents and relatives to sing, dance or declaim for them during gatherings (I vow to do the same to my future kids…Nyahahaha). Some of us needed to be bribed more than the others, but eventually we all gave in to sing a song or two or line up to dance the Name Game. This is especially true during our Christmas get-together when Christmas bonuses of our titos and titas are up for grabs. Thus, Christmas caroling was a way to fine-tune our vocal pipes. As I said, the preparations for the actual caroling were also fun. We selected and practiced our songs, made instruments out of tansan and munggo in empty cans (because sumpit was still “in” then). But for me, nothing really beats roaming around the streets of San Juan at night, because I was such a “gala” kid who sneaked from afternoon naps and who was not deterred even by the news that a Satanista was roaming our town kidnapping children.
Sige na nga po, Ghost of the Christmas Past, dahil nangangaroling din ako dati, magiging mabait na ako sa mga nangangaroling ngayon at nagbahay-bahay tuwing New Year. Ngayon, balik na uli ako sa common carriers.
If we (cousins) are to re-stage “A Christmas Carol”, which we presented many Christmases ago, I would have been a shoo-in for the role of Uncle Scrooge. I was less grouchy when we did the play, so I lost the role to my cousin Joanne (yep, she’s a girl), who was perceived more suplada as I was suplado. Instead, I played the Ghost of the Christmas Past (perhaps because I was a large kid and was one of the oldest in our batch). I doubt if I would have been warmer and kinder to carolers had I not been reading and digesting cases about common carriers and their duty to exercise extraordinary diligence over the goods and passengers they transport, for my Transportation Law class. (common carriers, puro na lang common carriers! O nga pala. Common carriers are persons, corporations, firms, or associations engaged in the business of transporting passengers or good, or both, by land, water, or air, for compensation, offering their services to the public.)).
The Ghost of Christmas Past seemed to have tapped my back and made me remember that I was once a caroler too who perhaps pestered and disturbed homes in San Juan (especially Tita Rhoda’s na hindi pa namin kilala noon). Pero iba kasi noon. What I hate about caroling these days is that it has somehow been degraded to “begging” and a money-making activity. In fact, some children do not sing at all. The simply tell you “Namamasko po!” as early as December 1 and expect to given something in return for their simple greeting. During my time, we were never concerned about the money (or how many Bazooka Bubblegum or RC Cola-which was cheaper than Coke- can we buy with our earnings). We regarded the aguinlados that we would receive merely as a bonus. We genuinely wished people a merry Christmas. We came to people’s homes well-rehearsed and equipped with our improvised instruments. What kept me, my brother and our cousins, caroling year after year (at least for me) was simply the joy of singing (naks!), the fun that comes with the preparations, and the thrill of being out in the streets at night, unaccompanied by adults.
We may not admit it, (hehe) but my cousins and I simply loved to perform and we were actually good, having been honed by the perennial coaxing of our parents and relatives to sing, dance or declaim for them during gatherings (I vow to do the same to my future kids…Nyahahaha). Some of us needed to be bribed more than the others, but eventually we all gave in to sing a song or two or line up to dance the Name Game. This is especially true during our Christmas get-together when Christmas bonuses of our titos and titas are up for grabs. Thus, Christmas caroling was a way to fine-tune our vocal pipes. As I said, the preparations for the actual caroling were also fun. We selected and practiced our songs, made instruments out of tansan and munggo in empty cans (because sumpit was still “in” then). But for me, nothing really beats roaming around the streets of San Juan at night, because I was such a “gala” kid who sneaked from afternoon naps and who was not deterred even by the news that a Satanista was roaming our town kidnapping children.
Sige na nga po, Ghost of the Christmas Past, dahil nangangaroling din ako dati, magiging mabait na ako sa mga nangangaroling ngayon at nagbahay-bahay tuwing New Year. Ngayon, balik na uli ako sa common carriers.
Christmas is a time for reunions. The picture above was taken during our (UP Friends) annual Christmas Get-together. Madaming wala at nakaalis na nang kinuha ang picture.
Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year!
posted by art @ 11:01 AM
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