Kris Kringle

I told you about our Kris Kringle a few days ago at our Sambuhay Interaktib Online,  a program that we watch twice a week anchored by two  Pauline priest friends and a seminarian.  We have become one big family, those who are active at the site but we are scattered.  Some live in Australia, Canada, USA, Hongkong, Italy and even in the Middle East. 

Well, the app was downloaded by one of our members and friend Min helped him with e-mailing those who participated. Yes, there is an app called Secret Santa.  Fr. Pao suggested that everyone could join although it is not compulsory.  We’ll finally have the “reveal” tomorrow via Zoom. My goodness, I am only just learning how it works because I didn’t see the need of downloading the app before.  I wonder how the more than fifty of us would go about it. 

A few hours ago, I received the gift from my Secret Mommy  sent through MrSpeedy, another online delivery option for us here. We were allowed to have a wish list that our Secret Santa could see in the e-mail.  

Despite this pandemic, we could still laugh. I am glad I found this group. Last night, the topic was about previous and memorable times spent during  Christmas.  Everyone has their own story. I am really looking forward to tomorrow’s 115th episode.  Come to think of it, this program was conceptualized by the SSP ( Society of Saint Paul) brothers and priests to make lighter moments and share laughter despite the grave threat of this pandemic.  And we have music in between. Fr. Albert and Bro. AJ have lovely voices. We gained friends in the process. Wonderful 🙂

We are on the seventh day of Simbang Gabi, two more days to go and we’ll complete the novena masses. 

 

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ASAP Is It

As I have mentioned here  before, I don’t normally watch television but I listen to  the radio when I am gardening. 

I stumbled upon this  online vlog by Zsa Zsa Padilla, one of those artists who is a talented singer as well.  She is a natural in front of the camera, no wonder, she already earned two million followers on YouTube.  She is a mainstay of ASAP (All-Star Sunday Afternoon Party) but then last August ABS-CBN, the largest communications network here in the country closed its doors because their franchise was not renewed by this government. Anything that opposes it is shut down.

Yesterday,  ASAP which used to be carried by ABS-CBN  reopened in collaboration with another TV channel. Some programs are also now being carried by Zoe Broadcasting  Network which was re-branded as A2Z  TV.

Back to Zsa Zsa, she  posted their opening numbers at ASAP with various  artists singing a medley of Tagalog  and English Christmas songs which I used to listen to every Christmas season. I was mesmerized. Nabuhayan ako ng loob.  There is still  Christmas 🙂 How lovely to listen and watch them render those lovely melodies.  We don’t have Zoe channel so I watched it on my cellphone. So nice to be carried away by those entertaining and lively music. There is something now that I could go back watching and be inspired.

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Eight Days To Go

Nah, I am not counting the days till  Christmas, I am counting the days till September 1. And that’s eight days till September 1. Curious? I bet.

Our famous singer/composer. Jose Mari Chan would say, “I’m coming, I’m coming”. He is the first voice you’ll hear come September 1 because  music airlanes  somehow conspire to play his songs by then.  Jose Mari Chan is one of the famous faces of Christmas. Among his popular songs which they usually play on radios are Christmas in our Hearts and A Perfect Christmas.

Yes, the start of the BER month is coming. It’s the beginning of Christmas celebration here in the Philippines. Let’s forget Covid for a while.

Remembering those days in grade school.  At the start of December (we had Christmas break then), we would decorate some small tree trunks without the leaves and are usually painted white by our teacher. Back then, Christmas trees as we know now were practically unheard of in our school in  the barangay. Garlands would be crepe papers of red and green (those are the Christmas colors we knew then), stars that  we hung on the tree are from the silky inner wrappings of cigarettes cut into small stars with  ball thread. Art papers in different colors are also used for decors. You can make them into poinsettia flowers, ribbons, wreaths and what have you. Small boxes are wrapped to place on the tree branches while some bigger but empty ones are placed under the tree.

culled from the net just to show you how it was done.

Of course we had exchange gifts too at the last day before Christmas break. We had singing and dancing and sometimes declamation contests too. Usual gifts we received during those times were a pair of  face towel and bath soap, pencils, candies, toothbrush paired with a little box of toothpaste, and small things that a child of 7 to 10 would appreciate. Our teacher would bring a “bilao of bibingka” which we usually share after the program.

Those were the days. A simple way of celebrating Christmas but they were fun days too.

 

 

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