Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1987-12-22, Page 5THE CITIZEN, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 22, 1987. PAGE 5. Christmas in the Philippines a joyful time BY TOBY RAINEY Christmas in the Philippines is a very special and joyful time for most people in one of the world’s poorest but most devout nations, with the annual celebration of Christ’s birth creating a sense of peace and personal renewal which will sustain many throughout the coming year. Reverend Lorenzo Ramirez of Blyth, and his wife Norma, both of Reverend Lorenzo Ramirez, his wife, Norma, son John and daughter Abigail display the traditional Philippines Christmas decoration, the “star” or “lantern”. The tissue and cellophane decorations are made by families working together, then hung in homes, churches and trees across the island at Christmas. The wreath symbolizes the encircling love of God, the star is, of course, the Star of Bethlehem, and the three tails symbolize the three wise men and the Trinity of God. whom grew up in the teeming island nation, say that the church­ es, both Catholic and Protestant, are very much the centre of the two weeks of devotion and celebration which herald Christmas, with all the community’s activities, both social and religious, centered around the church. The Philipp­ ines is the only Christian country in southeast Asia, with nearly 75 percent of the population embrac­ ing the Roman Catholic religion since it was first introduced by the Spaniards in 1521. Reverend Ram­ irez says that about 12 percent of the people are Protestants, while the remainder are Muslim, Bud- hist, Hindu or pagan, with a small scattering of people still practising the original native religion of the island. Gift giving is not a part of the Philippine Christmas tradition, ex- ceptforafewsmallgiftsfor the children, and the Ramirez’ deplore the blatant commercialism that surrounds the season in many Western nations, especially in Canada and the U.S.A. When Rev. Ramirez himself was a child of eight, he remembers hearing at school that Santa Claus visits good children on Christmas Eve and fills their stockings with gifts. It seemed like a good idea at the time, and the young boy hung a pair of his socks out on a tree branch where “they hung flapping in the breeze’’ for a full week before he realized that the story was just a myth. It may have been a painful lesson for a child at the time, but the incident has stood the adult in good stead, as Norma and Lorenzo have carefully nurtured in their own children, John, 11, and Abigail, 8, the conviction that Christmas is a time of religion and family, not of receiving presents. In keeping with the traditions of the children’s classmates in their Canadian schools, John and Abi­ gail do receive a few gifts, and they do hang up their stockings, but the stockings are used more just to holdwhateversweetsand small gifts the children may get from relatives on Christmas day, and not in the expectation that they will be visited by the jolly old saint, Mrs. Ramirez explains. The family is proud to relate that even at the height of the Cabbage Patch doll frenzy, Abigail never showed any interest in the crea­ tures; they also tell how their daughter, as a very small child, was quick to realize that the “Santas” she saw everywhere at Christmas were only men dressed up, with no special significance. In the Philippines, Christmas starts to invade the atmosphere in about September, when radio stations will begin playing carols, both the old, traditional carols in English, the country’s second language, or translated into Fili­ pino; favourite native carols are heard as well. So compelling is the spirit of Christmas to island people that the nation’s crime rate actually drops as the season approaches, staying low through­ out the entire season, Rev. Rami­ rez says. Children in schools and families in their homes begin to make the traditional Christmas “stars” or “lanterns”, (like the one shown in the photograph), small ones for the indoor decorations, and large ones such as this for hanging in windows and outdoors in trees throughout the towns and country. If the family can afford it, lights may be placed inside the lanterns, but most are just hung to flutter in the balmy breezes of early summer, where they create a feeling of joy in all who see them. Families will also make Christ­ mas trees and tissue paper poin- settias for the season; the trees are small leafy trees or bushes which are cut, stripped of their green leaves, and wrapped carefully with white or green tissue paper on every twig, a painstaking but lovingly undertaken task for every member of the family. Poinsettias, too, are carefully constructed of red tissue, since the native plants, which grow wild up to the height of small trees, are much too large to bring indoors, even though they are recognized as a symbol of the season, blooming only in the island’s early summer. For the 10 days preceding Christmas Day, every Christian Filipino family attends church at least once a day, when special services are held in both the Catholic and Protestant churches. The season starts on December 15 with the church service centered on the Angel Gabriel’s announce­ ment to Mary about the imminent birth of the Christ child; each day’s service in turn tells another segment of the Christmas story, until the glorious day of the Child’s birth on December 25th. There are always pageants in the churches on Christmas eve, with virtuallyeverychildinthe com­ munity taking part, performing at the front of overflowing churches, while those who could not squeeze inside sit or lean on the open windows, looking in to catch a Continued on page 38 The International Scene Bethlehem today BY RAYMOND CANON When Christmas time comes, it is the custom to write something of a seasonal nature and the result is that we get flooded with stories that are similar in both structure and content. I know because I have tried a number of times. For this reason I thought it might be a bit different to take a look at Bethle­ hem, the birthplace of Christ, and see just what it is like to-day and what the people living there have to contend with. When I started asking ques­ tions, I discovered that few people knew where the town was situated, other than the fact that it was in the Holy Land. When I asked where precisely, that is when the confu­ sion set in and it is for this reason that I am determined to remove some of this uncertainty. Let’s get its exact position. The town was, at the time Christ was born, about five miles due south of Jerusalem with Jericho about 17 miles to the north-east. Thus it was not a long trip to go from Jerusalem to either Jericho or Bethlehem. You could even go in the big city to do your shopping or other forms of business. Given the politicial situation today, Bethlehem is located in Israel but in that part of Israel whichwasformerlyjordan. Before the 1967 war, the border was some three miles to the north of the town and so it was far more Arab than Israeli. When Israel occupied the West Bank after the 1967 war, the whole area came under the juris­ diction of that country but today Bethlehem has come to face yet another problem. It is becoming a victim of urban sprawl. The birthplace of Christ has not really grown that much through the ages; it has stayed pretty well the same as it was centuries ago. That is more than can be said for Jerusalem; the city is growing by leaps and bounds in all directions from the old city and it is quite possible that some day Bethlehem could easily find itself as just a subdivision of Jerusalem. Asitis, a large Arab settlement has been constructed right up to the north­ west town limits of Bethlehem; in short Jerusalem has arrived. The closest Jewish settlement is a good three miles away. The people in Bethlehem are able to choose between Jordanian and Israeli citizenship; virtually all of them have opted for the former. The children, when they go to school, follow a Jordanian syllabus but there are classes in Hebrew and citizenship with the anti­ Israeli propaganda carefully re­ moved. The people of Bethlehem could use the arrival of another person of the calibre of Jesus to help them sort out the struggle which is going on in their town. While most of the people are Arab, they are living in an Israeli-occupied territory and have been for 20 years. The end is nowhere in sight and the Israelis give every indication of staying. Although there has not been any large scale construction of Israeli homes in Bethlehem, there is a Jewish settlement being built in another village Gilo which is only two miles down the road and which has been annexed by Jerusalem as it spread out in all directions. When will Bethlehem’s turn come? It must come as some relief when Christians show up to celebrate the birth of Christ. It is good for business, regardless of whether the owner is Jew or Arab. Remember that, while the Jews and the Arabs both pray to the same god (Jehovah or Allah), neither places the importance on Jesus as do the Christians. He doesn’tshow up, after all, until the NewTestament and the Jewish tour de force is the Old Testament. The Moslems consider him as just another prophet. If the Christians want to show up and spend money, all well and good .Other than that all that exists in Bethlehem today is an uneasy truce, not peace on earth, good will to all men. That is something that apparently happens elsewhere.