Were Christmases in Manila better back then? Well of course! Children squealed with delight at the smallest toys, the simplest joys. And families happily herded themselves from house to house, family to family for the thrill of singing a carol so as to receive a bit of Christmas change they could slip into their pockets for their pleasureable jangle, like proverbial jingle bells — boys in polos and socks, and girls in be-ribboned frocks. Here, I look back and try to remember the Decembers of my youth (’70s and ’80s) and what made those days so merry and light:
1. CHRISTMAS GIFTS. It certainly wasn’t a matter of quantity. Back then, people didn’t give everyone presents — at least not in our family. Ninongs and ninangs gave gifts to inaanaks. That was it. Then everyone pooled their money and this was divided so every grandchild had x-amount to spend and they could go shopping for gifts with one of the unmarried Titas.
2. CUBAO AND THE COD DISPLAY. At some point, early in every December, there would be a trip to Cubao to see the lights, to see Christmas decorations in the department store windows and particularly, the Christmas display at COD and their moving parts. What was fascinating about this is the idea of this was almost always better than than the reality of it. But inevitably, you would get there and the carols would be blaring and there would be crowds in the street.
3. SIMBANG GABI AND BIBINGKA. My grandparents went, and it was a annual goal to complete the novena — and go to church at 4:30am, 5am if you were lucky. The difficulty, in the few times I recall making it, was keeping awake in class that same day. But I always had that smug feeling of having done something right so very early in the day, and the feel of a hearty bibingka breakfast from the man plying treats outside the church warmed both heart and tummy.
4. CAROLING. The music of Christmas is certainly a touchstone to the Christmas season, and we were very much a singing family. When we were young, we would put on mini-pageants for the family. Later on, older cousins would bring their caroling groups to December reunions. Of course, you can’t talk of caroling without talking about the kids from outlying communities who come to the gate and mis-singing Christmas carol lyrics. I recall mis-singing a few myself in my own youth: “Later on, we’ll perspire as we dream by the fire” made more sense to me.
5. COOKIE BAKING. It’s not a particularly Filipino Christmas tradition, I’ll warrant you. But the American-pop-fusion wave that infuses Filipino culture meant that we ran into more than our share of Christmas season baking families. But our dear family friends, the E’s, were the bakingest of all. Every year, at some point in December, we were pleased to be their guests for the day, and for dinner. And the day would be spent baking cookies — specifically, gingerbread cookies — an authentic German recipe whose dough had to be pre-mixed, chilled, rolled and cut, baked and then frosted.
6. DRY ICE. I see children today, including my own, and I get a little bit sad for all that they do not have — tied to their phones, ipods and ipads — they don’t know what it’s like to go outside with a stick or a cardboard box. One of the highlights of the Christmas reunion was the outdoor play with plastic cups and the slabs of dry ice that came in the full-gallon Magnolia ice cream boxes. We would each take a plastic cup, fill it with a choice jagged piece, dribble water into into it, and make smoke signals. If there was plenty of dry ice, and at Christmas, there was lots, we wet pavement outside and slide slab of it all over the ground and danced about in the smoke. This was unbridled party fun like no other, and it was not just wireless, it was gadget-free.
7. FESTIVE FOOD. Filipino families come bearing food. The idea of going to visit people meant bringing them something to tuck into. And food was always a welcome present as it could never be turned down or recycled. Yes, you would have fruit cake, but also mamon and ensaymada, my Tita P’s delicately yellow, cheese-infused puto, homemade chocolate chip cookies, hot pan de sal, keso de bola, fruit baskets of mandarin oranges or boxes of apples, red and delicious, especially brought out for Christmas.
8. ALEMAR’S, BOOKMARK AND GOODWILL.. More than a few of us would get together to hunt for the perfect books, taking care not to read even the first page but just the blurb so as not to spoil it. We found the Dell Yearlings and the Newberry Award winners along the aisles of shelves in Alemar’s in the Rizal Theatre complex as well as in Cubao. Bookmark and Goodwill, which had less expensive British book editions in Makati. We would make calculations and spend every cent on books, anything leftover, we were happy to allocate to colored pencils or ball point pens, perhaps a bit of stationery.
9. HOLIDAY MOVIES. Dinner on Christmas day, we would spend with my father’s family, and though this party was quieter and more sedate, it was no less happy. My cousins on that side were younger, and we would have dinner and settle down to a movie that my Tito G would have ready queued up on his Betamax or later on, on his laser disc. Invariably, it would be a movie we had all already seen and loved — but something not always particularly Christmassy. While most would expect something like The Sound of Music or Mary Poppins, Tito G was more alternative in taste. It was often something violent or scary. One time it was James Bond in You Only Live Twice. Another time, it was Jaws. Or The Shining. Back then, re-watching a movie was not something we did ordinarily. Doing it on Christmas day in a large, air-conditioned master bedroom was a ritual we looked forward to.
10. DIY CHRISTMAS CARDS. When we didn’t have money for Christmas gifts, Christmas cards were huge. They were pure, simple, elegant expressions of love and affection. We made them for family and for special friends. They were labors of love and often tapped into creativity we didn’t know we possessed. We took time and thought to write out our Christmas messages, always ending with hopes for the new year to come. Ours was not a generation of buying so much as it was one of making.
11. SCHOOL CHRISTMAS PARTIES. The thing about the Christmas season when we were growing up is how people threw parties. From December 1 through to the feast of epiphany, there were Christmas parties and soirees, almost continuously — even ones that children could go to. There were school parties, of course, and parents had an array of parties to go to at which they took their children.
12. HELPERS’ FAMILY CHRISTMAS VISIT. For as long as I can remember, we would get up on Christmas day at around nine, because between 10 and 10:30, Manang Mameng would bring her brood of several children and grandchildren for brunch. Manang Mameng was my mother’s childhood yaya and this was her once-a-year time to show off her kin. My sisters and I would quickly take out usable pairs of shoes, t-shirts, toys and books and put them in bags to give to the children. And Mom would have envelopes ready for the older children. It was all part of the circle of giving, and I’m forever grateful to her for showing us, at the end of the day, that while Christmas is certainly about family and being together, it’s also about giving, especially to those who have less.
What family traditions do you miss or still keep on Christmas? Tell us below.
