Over the years I've noticed that little by little Christmas practices/traditions/rituals have been disappearing and newer "trends" have been emerging. Some have remained although not observed the same way we did when I was still a kid.
WHAT's OUT:
1) Christmas caroling the old fashioned way: used to be you could just go caroling anytime.Now,because of the ban on caroling, you have to send in advanced notice otherwise they won't let you into subdivisions.
2) Candy canes-when I was a kid Dad used to buy 2 large peppermint candy canes and hang these on one of our walls;I dont see these around anymore.
3) Christmas trees from real pine or agojo trees - Christmas trees are made of plastic or foil. There are even trees with built-in Christmas lights.
4) The traditional Belen under the Christmas tree - these were made of cardboard and you set these up like a diorama.
5) Sending Christmas cards-Used to be you would buy these and send them so many months in advance so they would reach the addressees in time for the Holidays.
6) Personalized Christmas cards- These were printed with the family photo at the front and customized greetings inside the card.
7) One Christmas Eve Mass only-it used to be held at 12 midnight and end after about an hour. Noche Buena followed. Nowadays,there can be as many as 3 evening masses.
8) The many corporate displays outside office buildings- Coca-Cola, Pepsi Cola, Ysmael Steel,COD. These would have movable displays which would be watched by people during the Christmas holidays.
9) Christmas shopping only in December- that was the only time we shopped for gifts and Christmas music was played.
10) Christmas vacations and celebrations at home-it used to be that people just stayed home or went to the provinces but still stayed inside homes during Christmas vacation.
11) Giving gifts that come in boxes and painstakingly gift-wrapped with ribbons and all. The bigger the gift the more expensive it usually was.
12) Dressing up for the holidays.
13) Home made parols and lantern parades in schools-used to be part of the pre-Christmas vacation activities in schools to have lantern parades.
14) Home-cooked Noche Buena
15) The Nativity story would be televised frequently.
WHATs IN:
1) Christmas shopping as early as July
2) Non-traditional Christmas decor and more brightly lit,flashy,high-tech lanterns.
3) Christmas vacations in hotels and resorts
4) Christmas gifts in bags and preformed boxes
5) Noche Buena meals in quick service restaurants or food delivered to your homes.
6) More monetary gifts or donations to the poor made in your name.
7) As times get tougher,more cookies and baked goods are given as gifts.
8) Nowadays, the smaller the package the more expensive the gift (e.g cameras, mp3s or ipods)
9) Sending electronic greeting cards or actually face to face greetings via webcam.
10) Christmas movies shown in so many channels but less of the Christmas story as told by the Bible.
11) Christmas masses held as early as 9 PM.
Thursday, December 28, 2006
Monday, December 11, 2006
A REFLECTION ON SIN
It's Advent once again. Last Sunday's Gospel was about John the Baptist calling on sinners to repent for the Messiah was coming. The reading from the Old Testament used picturesque words to describe the repentance that was required for one to be prepared for the Messiah..."make way for the Lord...you shall flatten the hills and valleys"...as if to suggest that if you've got one hell of a sin,you've got to clear it out!
When I was in Grade 1, our Catechism book illustrated the difference between venial sin and mortal sin. I still recall drawings of three boys: one whose heart was pure white(sinless);the second had some spots on his heart (venial sin) and the really bad boy had a black heart (mortal sin.) Whoever drew that picture is to be commended because I really believed that was how sin affected people. When I saw a broadcast of a heart surgery done on TV I wanted to see if the patient had sins. I was looking for the black spots on his heart that would tell me if he had mortal or venial sins. So it came as quite a shock to me when I realized that sin wasn't something you could see marked on one's heart.
But now that I am older and wiser,I realize that the imagery of sin as something blackening one's heart is really closer to the truth than I realized.
My realization is that sin has a way of deadening one's capacity to love (as symbolized by the heart.) For example, if a man cheats on his wife,I'm pretty sure that the first thing to react is his heart.It starts to pump faster because it knows something wrong is happening. The man's guilt can't be hidden. Over time though,after the man has rationalized his sin,the heart no longer reacts...because it has already been blackened by sin...it no longer feels.
No wonder that men find true repentance difficult!It will require the effort of" levelling the hills and valleys" to clean one's heart, and bring it back to a state where it can love and feel again.
When I was in Grade 1, our Catechism book illustrated the difference between venial sin and mortal sin. I still recall drawings of three boys: one whose heart was pure white(sinless);the second had some spots on his heart (venial sin) and the really bad boy had a black heart (mortal sin.) Whoever drew that picture is to be commended because I really believed that was how sin affected people. When I saw a broadcast of a heart surgery done on TV I wanted to see if the patient had sins. I was looking for the black spots on his heart that would tell me if he had mortal or venial sins. So it came as quite a shock to me when I realized that sin wasn't something you could see marked on one's heart.
But now that I am older and wiser,I realize that the imagery of sin as something blackening one's heart is really closer to the truth than I realized.
My realization is that sin has a way of deadening one's capacity to love (as symbolized by the heart.) For example, if a man cheats on his wife,I'm pretty sure that the first thing to react is his heart.It starts to pump faster because it knows something wrong is happening. The man's guilt can't be hidden. Over time though,after the man has rationalized his sin,the heart no longer reacts...because it has already been blackened by sin...it no longer feels.
No wonder that men find true repentance difficult!It will require the effort of" levelling the hills and valleys" to clean one's heart, and bring it back to a state where it can love and feel again.
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
THE ULTIMATE SACRIFICE
I attended the 25th anniversary of Fr. Leonido "Nonie"Dolor as a priest last Monday(December 4) at the La Salle Lipa Sentrum. In attendance were his brother clergy from the Lipa archdiocese and from the neighboring religious orders,which included among others,the Redemptorists,to which he once belonged.
At one point during the ceremonies I could not help but notice the number of priests and religious,many of whom were probably my age and maybe younger. I thought to myself that had I not left I would probably have been one of them.
The next thought that struck me though was the realization that these men and women were really giving up a lot to be of service to God and their fellowmen. Now that I have experienced the joys of married life and having children, I couldn't help admire the sacrifice these people were making.
At one point during the ceremonies I could not help but notice the number of priests and religious,many of whom were probably my age and maybe younger. I thought to myself that had I not left I would probably have been one of them.
The next thought that struck me though was the realization that these men and women were really giving up a lot to be of service to God and their fellowmen. Now that I have experienced the joys of married life and having children, I couldn't help admire the sacrifice these people were making.
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