Tedious at best, painful at worst

Gleaming colorful lights, star-shaped lanterns, puto bumbong and bibingka after Simbang Gabi, table groaning with food, and hearing "Kumukutikutitap, bumubusibusilak" on the radio -- these are the images that probably pop into one's head when they think of Christmas. A holiday lexicon that brims over positivity: merry, rejoice, cheer, and glee, but is this really the essence of Christmas? 

The Yuletide season might mean different things for different people. It is a varied experience. On the opposite end of the spectrum, it is a reality that can be both joyful and painful for not all issues can be wrapped in sparkly paper and topped with a festive bow. Some may celebrate it as a time with their family, intertwined with the joys of travel, expensive gifts, and bountiful feasts. It may be a season of nostalgia, of reunions and vacations where they attend Misa de Gallo in cold and early December mornings, going house to house singing carols, getting together with friends, or having "Noche Buena" as the clock strikes the eve; Such elements and traditions that carry on the yule odyssey. 

There is no single, all-encompassing version of the season. In contrast to the merry and glee, feelings of loneliness are amplified for many. It may be a season when family tensions and financial worries arise. Some flakes on a Christmas family get-together for it takes a toll on their emotional and mental health. Some traditions, no matter how merry and dazzling their reputation, cannot force someone to be joyful, and pressuring them to put on a pleasant face serves no one in the long run. As we adorn the Belen with all the colorful decorations we possibly think of, may we also welcome and embrace the opposite end of the spectrum.

The essence of Christmas is not necessarily to indulge in happiness and to be kind to one another. The ability to uphold traditions is not a true measure of success. It is on us. We can decide what Christmas means to us, and how we would like to spend it as long as we feel that warm tingly feeling in the gut, and that is a gift. 


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