What with Christmas songs filling up the air as early as September when typhoons are more frequent. Increasing number of homeless children and adults begging in the streets. Capitalist owners of malls preying on people by launching sales every other week which actually lead to heavier traffic as if we haven't had enough of the daily traffic jams.
Courtesy: Philstar.com
I strongly believe it will be worse this year since election is nearing. What better idea to campaign than using the festive season to plaster their faces on to tarpaulins that greet us a "Maligayang Pasko at Manigong Bagong Taon from insert name here".
I'm not really a Christmas person. Well, I was but something happened that changed my mind.
There were only a handful of people I dearly love, and one of them was my grandmother. Her mind never gets old and she's always on the move, traveling, dancing, singing, gardening. She never gets tired even when she's already in her early 80's. She's the one of the most generous people I've ever met and whenever our parents would hit us, she was there to defend us because she didn't believe in punishments.
I always thought she would live a longer life because she was a healthy living person and she looked happy and content every single time. I hoped and prayed that she will stay with us long enough for me to take her to places she had always wanted to go to and also for me to buy her a grand piano. I wanted to be her Santa Claus this time not the other way around which was what she always had been.
However, things will always happen no matter how hard we pray or hope.
Six years ago, I just graduated from college and just took up my licensure examination and was just waiting for the results.
A couple of weeks before Christmas eve, We received a call that she was sent to a hospital because she blacked out. They said that she had been suffering from hypertension which made her blood vessels weak and due to the constant pressure that was within her vessels, an artery burst which caused massive internal bleeding.
Being a nursing graduate, I knew it was very serious. That we would lose her. But I still hoped. I still prayed. I bargained her life with my passing the examination. I didn't care if I had to do it all over again many times or if I didn't pass at all just as long as she would stay with us, even for just three years. By then, I would be employed and would be able to pay my dues to her.
Still, she passed away. My Santa Claus had left me forever.
They say that youth ends when someone you deeply love dies. For me it's true.
After what happened, I stopped going to early morning mass. I stopped looking forward to Christmas gifts. I stopped believing in the spirit of Christmas.
For me, Christmas is just another day. Nothing special. A mere propaganda produced by capitalists to drive people from their houses to spend their hard earned money on tangible things that didn't really matter at all if you come to think of it.
Christmas is just around the corner. I hope it stays that way.
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