the 12 days of Christmas

(this column appears in today's edition of the Leyte-Samar Daily Express)

Hi there! It’s Friday and we’re three days away to Christmas. Calbayog LGU employees are five thousand peso richer today. Disbursement of the said bonus started yesterday.

Yup, in addition to the Misa De Gallo, the food and the decors that depict either the birth of Jesus or crass commercialism, it seems that the bonus (and especially the additional or the extra) is the other big thing that many equate with Christmas. And sad as it may seem, when bonus comes around, a good number of people are quick to say, “salamat may pasko guihapon”. Does it boil down to values being eroded? Values (re)orientation perhaps? Or could be (considering that Christmas is basically a religious festivity) some, if not many guardians of the faith failed to inculcate the proper values upon the Christian or Catholic faithful entrusted to them.

But reality check. Commercialism is here to stay and values are sure to be affected by time and what have you. If there is one thing that characterized news this year, it should be the economic crunch that many of us are either complaining or raving about. So, is it going to be a lackluster Christmas? Nah! They don’t call us Pinoys if we don’t know how to make things light amid difficulties – perceived or real. One day news will report about families worrying about food on Noche Buena; other days one gets a report on how crowded Divisoria and the other shopping centers are.

Talking about the economic crisis. Alas, it’s not only the local establishments or the jeepneys that had to raise their prices. Even the U.S. embassy had to raise their fees. Well, what with every Filipino wanting to taste the milk and honey from the land of milk and honey, the increase in fees should be no big deal. Alas, not for one senator. I dunnow if I was watching the news half asleep or half awake, I thought I heard the newscaster say that the senator is planning to summon U.S. embassy officials to explain the fee increases. Hmm, the senate inquiry on this issue should be interesting.

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Some history lesson. An AD in the lifestyle channel recently caught my attention. It was their take on that popular Christmas carol entitled The Twelve Days of Christmas. I kinda squirmed at the said AD (though I like what they did with the portion on the 5th day of Christmas . . . my true love gave me 5 naked men …) Seriously, that song seems so popular even fashion magazines occasionally come out with fashion forecasts based on the theme inspired by that song.

You might want to ask what in the world do leaping lords, French hens, swimming swans, and especially the partridge that won't come out of the pear tree have to do with Christmas? A few days ago I got an email regarding that song and I thought I’d like to share it with you.

From 1558 until 1829, Roman Catholics in England were not permitted to practice their faith openly. Someone during that era wrote this carol as a catechism song for young Catholics. It has two levels of meaning. The surface meaning plus a hidden meaning known only to members of their church. Each element in the carol has a code word for a religious reality which the children could remember.

The partridge in a pear tree was Jesus Christ.
Two turtle doves were the Old and New Testaments.
Three French hens stood for faith, hope and love.
The four calling birds were the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
The five golden rings recalled the Torah or Law, the first five books of the Old Testament.
The six geese a-laying stood for the six days of creation.
Seven swans a-swimming represented the sevenfold gifts of the Holy Spirit-Prophesy, Serving, Teaching, Exhortation, contribution, Leadership, and Mercy.
The eight maids a-milking were the eight beatitudes.
Nine ladies dancing were the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit-Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self Control.
The ten lords a-leaping were the Ten Commandments.
The eleven pipers piping stood for the eleven faithful disciples.
The twelve drummers drumming symbolized the twelve points of belief in the Apostles' Creed.

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Let me leave you with a line I got from Mana Charo (Nabong – Cabardo) when we met with her early this week. She mentioned something about her work on the life of the fist Bishop of the Dicoese of Calbayog, Msgr. Pablo Singzon. Asked why he chose Calbayog as the center of the Diocese which then included Samar, Leyte, Biliran and the Marianas Islands. The Bishop answered: “The religiousity of Calbayognons is second to none”.

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Have a Merry Christmas everyone! Ciao!