Pinoy Pan de Sal

Lost in Christmas

Christmas eve, I'm here in a Pancit Malabon store watching people harrass themselves as they madly rush to buy all sort of things for tonight's Noche Buena feast. The Christmas Rush, ahh.. I'm glad I'm free of it!

I promised myself never to get lost again in the "stressful" holiday seasons. Years ago, my idea of christmas was the more food and gifts you have, the more happy you get. Boy! Maybe that's why, deep in my subcouncious mind, I sort of dreaded the holiday season. I fed my hunger for material things and that de-railed me from reflecting on the real meaning of the season.

This christmas, I chose to celebrate the birth of my Lord in a special way. That is to strip myself of the stress of the holiday seasons and just be quiet in my soul. No parties, no loud music, no unusual food. People might think that its my excuse for not spending but I don't care. Jesus was born for the sole purpose of dying for us and with all His glorious might, He chose to be born in a stable. If you've never been in a stable before, its itchy, its dark, its full of mosquitoes and it smells like animal waste.

Lord, 'di ko na ulit hahayaan na masapawan ng hamon at keso de bola ang kahalagahan ng Iyong kapanganakan.