By Jona Branzuela Bering
I got staff who bickered over the difference between X and Christ. Chiny said, with neck’s veins showed off, that preferring X rather than Christ is like deleting the presence of the latter on yuletide season when obviously the celebration is for Him while Kevin, our literary ed blatantly argued the similarity of X and Christ.
Kevin, a stoic, who is eating Friedrich Nietzsche’s book and with Marxist blood, nonchalantly reasoned out that with escalating economic instability and raging governmental corruption, no doubt, Christ never wanted to be born since it entails endless Christmas shopping’s list for godchildren, nagging siblings, officemates, kin and on and on.
And the budget is tighter than twenty-four-waistline Santa Claus’ suit.
"Christ got sympathy, you know," he sheepishly added. :D
More often than not, Christmas’ definition is narrowed down to giving gifts and expecting something in return (with higher tags), parading towards godparents’ house, caroling from house to house for few bucks (this is economic season!) and agitating Scrooge (a character of Dicken’s A Christmas Carol) like Kevin will surely bellow at the carolers with their far from harmonized voice.
A peso will never be dropped at the waiting palms of the beggars aka carolers.
"Christmas is not necessarily expensive," Chiny appealed.
Opening the door of ones’ heart for those people who are knocking for forgiveness and acceptance; planting wet kisses over mama’s and papa’s cheeks; personalizing a letter for the significant other; attending Simbang Gabi with family; patting ones officemate’s shoulder and smilingly uttered, Merry Christmas bay are the simple yet important deeds in celebrating Veco-lighted season.
And a peso for the less fortunate kids (jeepney carolers) will never cause internal hemorrhage in ones’ wallet.
Kevin didn’t surrender. Carolers, he argued, are never been serious in singing diba’t kay ganda sa araw ng pasko---out of tune and much more, personalized lyrics!
"Since they are thinking of the delicious ngohiong and puso^ at pungko-pungko." I butted in. They caroled since they needed the money. Opportunity knocks once a year. They can’t ever carol during June or August. And ngohiong is much delicious, cooke
d with the breezy air of December and who knows they only tasted ngohiong once a year. Maybe, they spent the rest of the year sniffing rugby to ease their aching stomach.
"Maybe? You’re not sure Ate Jo." He grinned.
"Maybe, since if we help them Kev, they will not be sniffing
rugby all throughout their lives."
Even Scrooge does change in December. Even it is not.
this is so unlike me but....basta gikilig ko...
) and he is with their dog named say (maypa ang dog kaila pako:P). well, obviously their pet is a girl..siyempre ningduol si bruce... akong gibira..iyang 
