A Dim Christmas

Christmas used to be one of my favorite holidays of the year. The yummy foods, a lot of gifts, and a time well spent with family. When I was a child, my cousins and I always made Christmas enjoyable and unforgettable, like camping and going to every house in our barangay for Christmas caroling. But as I grew older, Christmas didn't feel the same anymore, it started to feel boring and sad. The sparkle of Christmas faded, it felt empty. 

This Christmas vacation, I wasn’t able to enjoy it at all because one of our relatives passed away. Instead of celebrating, we spent most of the time at the “burol”. I helped serve food to the visitors who came to show their condolences.

On December 24, my family on my father's side decided to go to Sived Beach. My uncle’s employees were having their Christmas party there, and we joined them. However, it still didn’t feel like a celebration for me. The bond I used to have with my cousins has changed as we grew older. We’ve become more distant, so even the beach trip felt sad and boring. In the past, I would stay up until midnight on Christmas Eve, excited to celebrate and open gifts with my cousins. But this year, I didn’t feel like celebrating. I just went to bed early and slept. On December 26, our relative was buried. We accompanied her to the cemetery for the burial. After that, life slowly went back to normal.This year’s Christmas wasn’t like the happy ones I used to have. It was filled with emptiness.

Life can be unpredictable, and we should treasure the good moments with our loved ones while we can.

REFERENCE/S

Haven, G. (2023, January 24). Pre and Post Pandemic Filipino Christmas Traditions. Golden Haven Memorial Parks. https://www.goldenhaven.com.ph/blog/pre-and-post-pandemic-filipino-christmas-traditions/