Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas greetings ring throughout the Christian world during this season which commemorates the birth of the Christ Child- Jesus. The exuberant joy that permeates the atmosphere is seen in the wide-eyed wonder and beaming faces among the young and old alike as they make special preparations for Christmas. There is the putting up of tinsel balls and decor including those saved from last year's, the planning for tried and untried recipes for the Christmas dinner and the shopping for gifts to be given to people close to our hearts. True, there is so much rejoicing for the unprecedented love for all humankind that finds lavish expression during this time of the year. Gift-giving has become a tradition. Remembrance of those we esteem or simply care for who are in far-off places find its way in the notes or greeting cards that criss-cross the postal mail or the waves of cyber space.
Family traditions of varying forms have sprung in many countries that celebrate the coming of Jesus into this world. Dinner after Midnight Mass called, "Le Reveillon," always has oysters as its main course in Paris. It is also a tradition to leave food and drinks on a table with a fire burning nearby for the Virgin Mary who visit homes during Christmastime. In Italy, the opening of the season starts eight days before Christmas and is announced by the sound of cannons firing from the Castle of Sant Angelo in Rome. How uniquely different are the letters written by Italian children! They do not write to Santa Claus asking for gifts, but to their parents to tell them how much they love them. The letters are normally placed under the father's plate and read after the Christmas Eve dinner. The Nativity Scene and gift-giving are part of the Christmas traditions in Portugal. The Three Wise Men are the gift-bringers not Santa Claus. Children put shoes along window-sills and doorways with carrots and straw to lure the horses/camels of the Three Kings. Codfish and fruitcake are Christmas dinner mainstays. In Spain, every household has the "Belen," the Nativity scene, called "Creche" by St. Francis who first portrayed it with real live animals in the Umbrian hills during the 13th century. Spanish Christmas dinner begins with prawns and roasted lamb with the tradional "turron" or sweet almond for dessert. In Germany, the Christmas tree is an integral part of the Christmas celebration since it actually originated there. A German Christmas without the green fir tree is definitely inconceivable! In Poland, the tradition of "wigilia" or a 24-hour fast that begins on Christmas Eve is followed by a meal of 12 courses - one course representing one apostle. In Czechoslovakia, midnight mass is followed by a dinner which highlights fish. Fish scales are traditionally placed under dinner plates with the belief that it would bring wealth to the household. Carrying a fish scale in the wallet will ensure that the person would never lack money throughout the year. In Argentina, the "Pesebre" or Nativity Scene is an important part of the Christmas home decor. Christmas Eve is celebrated by the release of "Globos," colorful paper balloons lit from inside. The beauty of the "globos" flying in the night sky is a thrill to behold! In Russia, Christmas is celebrated on January 7th, an official holiday, thanks to the Russian Orthodox Church! A priest visits every home during the season to bless every room with Holy Water. Singing carols from house to house is limited to the first day of the season since it is truly White Christmas there with temperatures dropping to minus degrees. In China, Christmas has now become a festive occasion for an increasing number of its people. They join the ten (10) million baptized Christians who celebrate Midnight Mass.
The Philippines is predominatly a Catholic country. It is the third largest Catholic nation in the world second only to Brazil and Mexico. The incalculable religious fervor among its people was dramatically illustrated when Blessed John Paul II celebrated mass in Manila (1995) with four (4) million people in attendance - the largest ever recorded in papal history. Speaking of superlatives, it is reputedly the only country celebrating the longest Christmas season. This is so because of the many customs and traditions associated with the festivities.
The tradition of the "parol' or Christmas lantern in the shape of a star hang in the front windows of most homes is a tribute to the Star of Bethlehem which the Magi used to guide themselves toward Christ during the time of His birth. The "aguinaldo" or gifts usually in cash to godchildren held during Baptism or Confirmation hold equal sifnificance in the Filipino psyche. The traditional singing of Christmas carols by children from house to house has now become a perenial activity among the adults who solicit funds for their ministries to help the poor and the disadvantaged. The "Noche Buena" or family Christmas dinner after the Midnight Mass is preceded by the Simbang Gabi, a Filipino tradition which is now a worldwide phenomenon wherever a group of "kababayans" or ethnic citizens reside.
"Simbang Gabi" is a nine-day novena of very early morning masses instituted by Spanish missionaries during the colonization of the Islands in the 1500's. The "Dawn Masses" which usually started as early as 4 AM allowed farmers and fishermen to participate in the Liturgy before setting out for the day's work. Nowadays, "Simbang Gabi" may either be held at 5 AM or at 8 in the evening. A special intention which may be of thanksgiving for all the blessings of the year or for health or financial issues usually predicates attendance in the novena. It has been said that completion of the novena assures God's favorable response. Be that as it may, "Simbang Gabi" celebration show the faith and devotion of a people to God Who is in control of their lives.
Breakfast after "Simbang Gabi" is sold right in temporary stalls erected within the church grounds. Vendors offer a wide variety of native delicacies. Family, friends and neighbors alike renew friendship or start new ones over the traditinal fare of "bibingka" (rice, flour and egg cake cooked on a clay pot with hot charcoal above and below it), "puto-bumbong" (a purple sticky rice delicacy steamed in bamboo tubes with shredded coconut meat and brown rock sugar) and "salabat," hot ginger tea or "tsokolate," hot cocoa. It is during the "Simbang Gabi" and the observance of other Christmas traditions that the Filipino kindred bonds are biblically "seven times forged" for generations to come.
The mode of celebrations, the dates and traditions vary across the globe, but the spirit of Christmas remains the same everywhere - the spirit that makes people more kind, more forgiving, more concerned with "the other," more willing to make sacrifices to make loved ones as well as those difficult to love, happy and filled with love - an imitation of the ultimate LOVE brought by Baby Jesus to the little town of Bethlehem!
COME, LORD JESUS, COME !
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