Missing Christmas in Pinas (a nostalgic entry)

In another part of the world, the night air is disturbed by occasional "Sa may bahay ang aming bati..." followed by "We wish you a merry Christmas..." and might even go on to finish the whole repertoire depending on how long the maybahay hands over a few coins to the carollers. In which case, the kids would immediately launch into "Thank you, thank you, ang babait ninyo. Tenk u!" Houses, churches, even trees are all lit up with festive multi-colored lights, with parols thrown in for the extra holiday-look. Traffic is at a standstill (would have steadily become heavier once the -ber months kick in until one wonders if she has accidentally entered a huge parking lot by December) and shopping malls are jampacked full of human bodies all rushing to buy last-minute presents for the myriads of relatives, friends and inaanaks; and all kinds of food imaginable for the traditional noche buena (where the last-minute presents will be distributed while getting stuffed so full with food).

Another one of the many firsts that I've had since coming to China is celebrating Christmas in a country whose poeple may not even be aware of the Judeo-Christian story of a poor baby being born in a manger. Coming from the Philippines where about 80% of the population are Catholics, one would not have been able to help it but be caught up in the festivities just by breathing the densely polluted Manila air. But instead, I'm breathing the moderately polluted TieLing air, which doesn't smell of Christmas at all. Oh, the sweet smell of freshly cooked bibingka and puto bumbong! Now that's a definite must-experience Pinoy Christmas staple. And yes, it is an experience. Yummy!

I know how I had always complained about the crass commercialism often attached to Christmas but I must admit I miss even that. I can almost feel the excitement of playing monito monita and trying to guess who my "mommy" is. And then there's the gift-giving and gift-recycling. Trying to figure out who'll have much better use of the mugs from last Christmas can be challenging and fun. And even the wrapping of the gifts! It's almost a traditional event. Nuna and I would always reserve a whole day just for the Christmas gift-wrapping. I remember one Christmas when we decided to go environmentally friendly and wrapped the gifts using old newspapers and magazines. Of course people just thought we were cheapskates, which we also were. (And I still am, actually.) Sigh...

And to think that this is the first Christmas when there'll be real snow when I look outside my window... I have yet to make a snowman, by the way. I avoid going out as much as possible due to the extreme cold weather. I cannot even imagine how cold it would be to actually play in the snow. I just might turn into a human popsicle. Can't risk that. No wonder Rudolph's nose is red. Any exposed flesh turns red in a matter of minutes and my own nose is permanently red outdoors. Good thing the Chinese don't know Rudolph so they can't tease me about that.

Needless to say, there's no place like home. Especially during Christmas.