To be honest I have not seen a sleigh bell and the only silver bell I have seen was in an antique shop, away from anything Christmasy. But I promise you when I sing "Sleigh bells ring, are you listening," I will have the fervor to own that old carol, Winter Wonderland.
And how can we forget our attempts to raise money through those cold nights as we blared: Washing trodasno/Enawarhorse openslay/Or the pelds we go/Lafing aldeway?" Somehow, we always made it through that "laughing all the way." Somehow, Christmas, to a child, is laughing all the way and it does not matter where those tiny feet brings him. "Jingle Bells" is reputedly the most popular Christmas song although originally the piece was composed by a church minister for Thanksgiving somewhere in Boston.
From Boston to the many barangays here is a mighty distance. This could be why this most popular song is also the most mysterious carol in this island. The first few lines are okay and the rumpus brought about by the ringing of bells never fails any generation of child-singers, until one gets to the other lines and all heaven breaks loose with this rendition: Belts on bobels ring/Makingspirits rayt/Oh wat pan in the restawran/And slaying songs tonayt.
Colonialism and conversion can turn us off when seen in the domain of governments and societies. But the same forces can be quite charming and enticing like a well frosted cake when viewed through those soft but not harmless territories of music.
Who can ever imagine that we would be putting up Christmas trees without bothering to look into the reasons for doing so?
The Spanish colonial administration, it is said, introduced a celebration that was closer to the narrative of that enchanting birth in the manger. The decision was fueled by the colonizer's aim of hiding behind religion the motive of occupation. The "crèche" (old French for "crib") was introduced and soon the imagination of Filipinos has transformed the depiction of the Birth of Christ, as told by Luke and Matthew, into varied interpretations and distortions. Or, have you forgotten those Belen Contests when you were in school? In my memory, I have seen the Three Kings riding motorcycle.
In my life, I have seen angels with heads made of corncobs. I have been bothered many times already with the infant Jesus wrapped in swaddling cloth, its face lettered with concepts like "climate change," "globalization," "imperialism" and "hunger." To be honest, I found these exercises not only eerily didactic but simply an exhibition of bad taste and bad timing. And honestly, the crib or the manger is never really a place for ideologies. Wait till the swaddling clothes are removed and you can start to rock the heavens with your concepts.
Sometimes, the interpretation of the Nativity Scene is done to illustrate a season's fact, like harvest. Which encouraged many groups in the past to fit the respective heads of Joseph and Mary with watermelon or coconut. Believe me, the most disturbing design I ever saw was Jesus with the head and face of a ripe mango.
What is happening in these reinterpretations? What is being said in these stagings? Are these our daily, quiet resistance to this religion we still do not understand? Are we expressing an emotion that we do not recognize outright through acts that subvert what we are consciously upholding?
And what about the claim - never globally validated - that we have the longest Christmas? We have if we take the fact that as early as July we already play Christmas carols and that by November we already tire of it. We have if we take into consideration the early Christmas sale and the cunning early display of lanterns and special lighting effects. You see, this is not Christmas but commerce and the songs played early on is really part of our cultural make-up: we never segment our seasons, for there is nothing to segment.
What we do have uniquely is our own way of celebrating Christmas, where the religious spills into the secular. Marvel at how the two major TV networks and radios have appropriated the message of the humble birth into their own claims that their own companies are into giving and kindness. The bottom line for these networks is "rating" and "profits." That is Krismas.
Going back to the songs, it will always be "belts on bobelts ring." Who cares about bells on a cat with short tail? We do not tie bells on them; we throw their kittens and we neglect the adults. We do not make "spirits bright" but making spirits right does make sense, doesn't it. In the face of hunger during this time of the year, it is wonderful to sing of "pan in the restawran" even as we slay/kill the songs each night. Maogmang Pasko nin Pagkamundag.