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OPINIONS AND COMMENTARIES

GREG MACABENTA

STREET TALK

I have just returned from a quick trip to Manila and I'm happy to report that Christmas has not been postponed or cancelled in our Motherland.

Maligaya pa rin ang Pasko sa Pilipinas.

Sure, times are bad. A lot of pockets are empty. A lot of tables have very little food on them. There won't be many expensive gifts being given away. And ninongs and ninangs may tend to be less generous.

But Christmas will be observed as scheduled. It will take more than an economic calamity to keep our fellow Pinoys from celebrating Christmas the way only Pinoys can.

Across the creek from my house in Paranaque is a squatter's area. If there are people in Manila who have to struggle to survive, my neighbors on Creek Drive - that's what they call the place - must certainly be among them.

But, I can swear, they hold more dance parties than any of the subdivision dwellers on my side of the creek. They also celebrate birthdays, baptisms, marriages and fiestas more often than the folks who have to pay monthly amortizations on their brand new homes.

I probably know this more than my other neighbors mainly because my bedroom window opens right into the clearing which the Creek Drive Dancers use for traipsing the light fantastic.

When my family and I still lived in Paranaque, we never complained about the rock and roll, tango and ugoy-ugoy music that blared on through the night. It actually made us feel good to know that, despite their poverty, our neighbors still managed to have a good time.

We didn't want to deprive them of that.

That, in fact, is the reason why, for Filipinos, Christmas will still be as merry as God intended the Christ Child's birthday to be.

In the midst of the most severe hardship, we Pinoys will always manage to find some reason for joy. In the midst of tragedy, we will always find an occasion to smile. We even have a good quip for those instances when there's nothing to eat.

"Idaan niyo sa pito," we say. "Whistle your hunger away."

The evening before I flew out of Manila, I went to the newly-opened SM mall in Bicutan. I was curious to see how this humongous shopping center would fare considering that, only a few kilometers away on Sukat Road, there is another SM mall.

I was astonished to see the new mall packed. One reason could have been that there was a show featuring some young stars. But how does one explain the fact that the restaurants were also full of diners? And how does one explain the fact that the haberdasheries and toy stores were full of shoppers?

Yes, indeed. People weren't just window shopping. They were shopping. They were buying Christmas presents. They were preparing to celebrate Christmas.

But even those who can't afford to buy gifts will not be denied the spirit of Christmas. That spirit is everywhere in the Philippines.

From the 16th of December, when the Simbang Gabi commences, all the way through to the first Sunday of January, when the Feast of the Three Kings is celebrated, the poorest among our people will manage a greeting for whomever they meet:

"Maligayang Pasko at Manigong Bagong Taon!"

They, more than most, know the real meaning of Christmas. They know that Christmas is about a child born in a manger because there was no room at the inn. Christmas is about poor shepherds watching their flock in the winter cold. Christmas is about angels singing the first noel: "Glory to God in the highest and peace men of goodwill.”

Christmas is about love.

And if there is something that our people back in the Philippines have plenty of, it is love. Here's wishing that we, in America, have plenty of it, too.

A blessed Christmas and a peaceful New Year to all.

 (e-mail gregmacabenta@hotmail.com)