That Festive Mood

January 30, 2014. From what unknown thoughts, i start to recall our past Christmas celebration, maybe because i had real fun to the point i forgot my class schedules upon coming back to school. Or maybe another celebration is imminent with the coming of the Lunar New Year, causing me to come up with related thoughts. Anyways..

December 24, 2013. I woke up 8am one morning groggily to the tune of jingle bells playing on the stereo. To the realization that time is hastily flying away, I realize it is already the morning of December 24 and with the feeling of cheerfulness in the air I set out of my room to happily greet everyone in the house a good morning with a big smile on my face. Almost everyone’s here, my 2 brothers are talking to each other along with their spouses, with my 2 little nephews running about the house toppling stuff and playing with the dogs. My little sister is holding my niece almost gobbling the little lass up with kisses. At 8 months old, she looks ready to cry of annoyance. I pinch her pinkish puffed cheeks and UWAAAAH! Oops!

yeah, sorry about that.

I just love the holidays. No classes, everyone’s having a sense of optimism within them and the streets are full of people rushing about with their Christmas shopping. Tatay is out picking up the pre-ordered cakes, ice creams and what not for later and upon entering the kitchen, to my surprise Nanay is already defrosting and preparing what we’re about to eat. She hastily asks me to help and turns out we’ll be having our Noche Buena quite early this time and we’ll be filling our stomachs to the brim not at midnight but at lunch.

FOOD? WHERE!

            The reason she says is that my brothers will be spending the night at their in-laws and at midnight if we’d ever celebrate it’d only be the four of us, father, mother, me and my little sister. And it would be a pretty lonely sight she said. I agree with a tear as I chop up the onions. Nanay laughs, “stop messing around and get to it!”.

            We will be having lechon kawali, pata tim, seafood pasta, the usual ham and fruit salad and a chocolate chip banana cake. Yum!  Everybody dives in hurriedly and I whisper to my little 3 year old nephew gobbling up the lot “man, I cook so good!” he retorts” Nge! You only chopped stuff up!” everybody laughs! How cute. I could just tear his face up and stuff it in a gift box.

            Minutes later, there goes the little rascal tearing up the gifts under the Christmas tree. The older nephew screams “Hey! That’s not for you!” while he also tears a gift that’s not for him. I laugh at the sight as I set up the tripod for the camcorder. Sigh, it’s pretty hot in here. I wipe my forehead full of big drops of sweat as I recall the previous years where we videotaped the opening of the gifts and this year’s the same, except only a little earlier, and oh! Tatay’s bringing out a bundle of crisp 50 peso bills. If you could only see the grin on my face, Ha-ha.

I present, the TRUE essence of christmas. joke. haha (image courtesy of:

http://www.philippinecountry.com/philippine_money/New_PHP50.jpg)

            A Christmas song plays on the speakers as Nanay and Tatay with Santa hats speak on the microphones our designated gifts. Everybody’s happy. But, amidst the festive mood it dawns upon me the imminent haste of the passing time. Tatay is growing old, he had a stroke many years ago. He’s 54 now and it really is showing,  it’s the same with Nanay, earlier that month she was diagnosed with small developing lymph nodes in her neck. They’re both on maintenance medications now and that realization just got worse as I remember the first time we don’t get to celebrate Christmas at midnight, together.

            “CHAMP! This one’s for you” Says Tatay on the microphone. Dazed, I find everybody laughing loudly. To my shock I find myself sitting in father’s lap absent-mindedly. I get up real fast and Tatay says “you’re not a kid anymore you know, and you’re pretty heavy to be sitting on my lap like you used to, after all these years.”

He hands me 4 of the crisp brand new 50 peso bills and I sit at a chair opening my gift. Jokingly they put a pair of my old tattered shorts and slippers I’ve been dying to replace in place of the new ones. And the room is filled with laughter yet again. The festive mood once again spurs in me the thought that there is really nothing to be sad about, and all of this, the laughter, the happiness coexisting with the sadness, is just natural to the passing of time. A big smile appears on my face as a lone tear mixing with a bead of sweat rolls down my cheeks. Man, it really is hot in here.

The FEELS man. (image courtesy of:

http://cdn.uproxx.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/pinkman-crying.gif)