At the intersection of Christmas and impulse
AMIDST the number of people quoting that damned Green Day song as well as the people who are asking this month to be nice to them as if August cheated on them with three other lovers by doing an African lovefest, there are loads of people saying Christmas season has already started. Like many things wrong in this country, September marks the beginning of Christmas season in the Philippines.
And why not? We are a country proud of all the wrong things: a runner-up for a reality singing contest in the US whose Filpino ancestry is questionable at least, the largest whatever delicacy begging for the attention of Guinness, and other “great” things that do not add value to our heritage nor strengthen our identity as Filipinos. What is the longest Christmas celebration in the world than just another shtick or illusion of greatness we desperately cling to?
And speaking of the longest holiday celebration in the world, we fail to realize that the all the things we love about the season–more commonly known as -ber months–happen all year round. Sure, the air may not be as festive as that of the holiday season but the spirit is just the same. After all, we don’t need to be in December just to be able to say “it’s that time of the year again.”
Loving the long queues at checkout lanes snaking through the aisles? We have that almost every single day, except for days before payday, of course. But what the hell, we can just swipe our credit cards and we’re all set! It just happens to peak during the wretched -ber months and things are still pretty much normal after.
When you look at the way Filipinos spend their money, you can see a trend that we spend more year after year. According to the data published by the National Statistics Coordinating Board, consumer spending in the Philippines has been on a consistent rise annually, with the fourth quarter always showing a huge spike in expenditures.
Last, the average consumer expenditure in the country rose from Php 1.17 trillion in 2013 to Php 1.24 trillion, with the fourth quarter on both years taking the bigger piece of the pie. While it is expected that expenditures will skyrocket in the last quarter, there’s something odd in our consumer-spending trend: our expenditures just keep on rising year after year. See the chart below:
While the biggest spending goes to the physiological needs based on Maslow’s famous hierarchy of needs–this covers food, water, clothing, and shelter–Filipinos love to adorn themselves with frivolously priced items. We’re willing to line up one day before an international clothing line opens its doors for the first time, or some not-so-fancy Michelin-starred dimsum joint just so we brag about how we were the first ones to pop the cherry among our circles.
Fortunately, it’s not just the extravagance that lasts all year round. Whether it is payday Friday or just another boring Tuesday night, you’ll definitely witness drunk people staggering out of their watering holes. In case you’re wondering how on earth bars can draw people on Tuesday night, two things: quiz nights and open mic nights.
For instance, 121 Bar and Restaurant — despite its insulated distance from the heart of Makati-CBD–is still flocked by patrons who want to participate in the battle of wits against other affirmation-hungry players. Meanwhile, open mic nights have become a dime a dozen, with each night trying to cater to different kind of people. Who said costs only occur during Halloween parties, which is just a relatively new shebang in this country?
Drunk people aren’t just the ones that adorn the streets during holiday season. You’ll also see the city adorned with the colors in Boy George’s song, and what a lovely sight the country is during –ber months. However, it’s not like our public spaces are free from clutter outside those months: politicians adorn these places with oversized posters with them giving projecting their best shit-eating grin. Expect to see your local mayor’s face tarnishing the sacred parol this Christmas. They’re more than willing to do anything just to get your sweet vote next year.
And who says that asking for aguinaldo is merely confined during December 25? We have the problem of street children haphazardly jumping from one jeep to another, handing out their ang pao to weary passengers–and the government can do little to nothing about it. Meanwhile, we also have preachers and street choir who ask for our money even if we don’t belong to same religion. Finally, our modern heroes in absentia can definitely complete a family tree by simply taking note of people who ask them for alms. Who says people can only ask during Christmas season?
In case you miss it, there will be a constant reminder wherever you go that the country has finally entered the holiday season: Christmas music. From washed-up actors trying to cash in by selling Christmas albums to medleys of classic holiday tracks horribly woven with simple beat, you’ll be haunted by these tracks wherever you go. While hearing Christmas music can drive you insane, keep in mind that have the rest of the year to endure horrible music blaring everywhere. Do you want to listen to song about pabebe and let it haunt you wherever you go? Fortunately, we have the likes of Thyro Alfaro and Yumi Lacsamana buying in the game, changing the world one pop song at a time.
Suppose that we have all the hallmarks of –ber months actually happening all year round, what does it say about us, a country whose heritage of proud-ness stems from the little, mundane, things that have little or no value at all? We’re proud of the way we celebrate the holidays, or at least how the country transforms from a horrendous freak show to something less horrendous. Unfortunately, the things that we take pride in are the fatal flaws that will plunge this country further down the spiral.
If our almost-semester long celebration of holiday, albeit joyous and festive for months, has been built on nothing but all the wrong things Filipino, then what does it say about us? If the foundation of our Christmas celebration is nothing but a beautiful twist to our perversity, then we’re either deluding ourselves that we’re having a good time this holiday season or our sick values are just deeply ingrained to us that we’ve learned how to draw out the good out of the bad.
What would Jesus do if he finds out that Christmas season Filipinos celebrate Christmas all year round, except we add a little charade in the colors of red, gold, and green to make our hideousness more palatable?
