Today Is September 1 (And It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas)




       Today is September 1, officially the start of Christmas season in the Philippines. Yup, that’s how excited we are with Christmas and that’s how long we celebrate it. Go to a mall today and your ears will be greeted by carols (most likely a song by Jose Mari Chan), turn on the radio and and your favorite station will be playing your favorite Christmas song, look at your neighbor’s house and she’ll probably be hanging a parol at her window right this very moment.

      Actually, I already have been reminded that Christmas is just around the corner last week. I was with my sister and while drinking a latte (we were inside a coffee shop ) she suddenly blurted out, “Hey, Christmas is near, don’t forget your gifts for these two.” She was referring to her two-year old son and seven-year old daughter, the two-year old son was currently grinning at me, eyes twinkling, like he understood what her mother had just said.

       I had to remind my sister that one of my favorite activities was to buy her kids gifts, albeit cheap ones.

       The two year old son then started walking and running inside the place, giggling, screaming, laughing, reciting the alphabet, counting aloud, reading every words he saw printed on the shop’s walls (he still can’t read, though; he’s actually reading it letter by letter),  disturbing the peace of other coffee drinkers. I decided to have a stroll with him outside so as to quiet him. And as we were walking at the sidewalk, he continued to read (or dissect) every sign he encountered. The little guy, incidentally, is quite talented, he can recite the alphabet in reverse.

       Then, while we were still walking, he stopped and stared at something, nay, someone, and he wouldn’t budge no matter how I tugged at him. What caught his attention? A fat man standing at the sidewalk, with white hair and and white beard that resembled, yes, Santa Claus. I didn’t know if he’s already aware of Santa Claus, but he was grinning as he looked at the old man.

       Indeed, it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, maybe that  old man is really Santa and he’s already doing  reconnaissance on whether who’s been good or bad.

       "Always be good," I told the little guy, and he grinned at me and we continued walking hand in hand, and we started singing the Alphabet Song, starting with the letter Z.

     

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Things You Are Not Allowed To Do During Holy Week (Or So They Say)

Image
       Today is Holy Tuesday, three days away from Good Friday. For many, this is the week to be holy (pun intended). The week for an individual to repent or show how good a christian he is. Ask a priest or any religious person  and they will most likely tell you that the following things are not allowed this week(especially on Good Friday and Black Saturday):        Gorging        Meat        Sex        Porn        Cursing        Vices        Loud music        R-Rated films        Dirty thoughts        Singing (loud music)        Dancing (to loud music)        Bathing (just ki...
Read more

"Hey, This Song Has Built A House Inside My Head!"

Image
If you'd notice, I'd put a little musical thingamajig somewhere on this blog and I called it Last Song Syndrome. Last Song Syndrome, of course, happens when a song you just heard refuses to leave your mind for hours or even for days. You sing it or hum it while working or while taking a bath or changing your baby's or your granddad's diaper or taking your dog for a walk or just bumming around. I listen to a lot of Pink Floyd songs so most often than not, it is a Pink Floyd song that will always swirl inside my head. But I also listen to other musicians. I'll try to dissect and write a small background of every song that I will feature in this blog. The Final Cut is one of my fave Pink Floyd songs. Very emotional, very depressing and has great vocals by Roger Waters , it is one of the songs from the album The Final Cut (an anti-war CD that was released in 1983), the last album where Roger Waters (Pink Floyd's main songwriter) took part in. After that album, Water...
Read more

AND HERE'S SOME BAD NEWS...

Image
Seventeen years ago, Maureen Hultman, 16 years old, Roland John Chapman, 21 and Jussi Olavi Leino, 24, were returning home from a party when they were accosted and confronted by Claudio Teehankee Jr, 45. Teehankee, who was unknown to the three, demanded some identification. Leino took out his wallet and showed Teehankee an ID. Chapman approached them and asked Teehankee: “Why are you bothering us?” Teehankee drew out his gun and shot Chapman in the chest. “Why did you shoot me?” Chapman asked Teehankee as he was crumpling to the ground. Chapman died on the spot. Teehankee then ordered the now hysterical Hultman and Leino to sit together on the sidewalk. While seated, unarmed and begging for mercy, the two were gunned down by Teehankee. Hultman was killed while Leino survived and later identified Teehankee as the gunman. The nation was enraged with that senseless crime and demanded that the death penalty be restored. Teehankee was sentenced to one count of reclusion perpetua (ranging f...
Read more