Cold Christmas eve

By: Dave Achondo 

WHAT a lonely Christmas it is this year. I am pointing at the fact that compared to previous celebrations. It was far more livelier around the city then; people roamed the streets at 1 am in my neighborhood. But this year, that wasn’t the case at all. It’s as if everyone has already fallen asleep before midnight. But I am open to the possibility that nobody was home.

At approximately 1 am, I roamed the streets of Tomas Saco, Macasandig, and was heading towards a friend’s house to do our barkada’s tradition of get-together–basically getting drunk. Sadly, there were only two of us left as some already have families of their own. Others lived far away. The joke was, the other members of my group had chains tied to their necks, placed by their thoughtful wives, hahaha… I am not saying it’s a bad thing.

We used to reminisce our stupidities and adventures back when we were still younger. That was when we had little or no responsibility at all.

Regardless of the fact there were only two of us present, it was still nice to connect with an old friend. ‘

This Christmas was one of the loneliest I have ever experienced. I know some of us found it hard to celebrate it without our loved ones by our side because they were out working hard abroad or have lost someone this year, and felt incomplete.

My girlfriend is one of them. She’s in Dubai, and we all know that city doesn’t really count Christmas as a holiday. There, Christmas day is a regular working day.

It pains me to see that we were unable to celebrate it together, and it’s hard to imagine her side not celebrating it with loved ones. I was just glad to know that even though she was far away, she enjoyed Christmas day.

Luckily, there were Filipinos in the place she was staying, and after work, they celebrated Christmas together.

It works both ways. If you are sad because you were unable to celebrate it with them, they too are sad because they were unable to celebrate it with us.

It was indeed a cold Christmas for me even though I was with my family. I was still incomplete and sad inside all throughout the night.

I only thought of how she was doing. But regardless of the thought of missing her, I had to push through. We both had too because there will always be a next time.

This is where Johnny Walker came in, and made my night livelier. But having two people drink a liter of this seemed suicidal enough so we did not get to finish it because we we’re already drinking beer beforehand–it didn’t take too long for Johnny to knock us out. The good thing is, I was able to come home safe and sound.

The Yuletide is not the time to be sad, but instead joyous although, sometimes, people can’t help but feel that way. I say they should still move pass it and not make a big deal out of it. It is completely natural to miss people you love, and in my case, my family in the US and my girlfriend in Dubai. It is still best to remain optimistic during big celebrations such as this. There is no point being depressed on Christmas day as it would defeat its purpose.

As I said, there is always a next time. Christmas has been there before your forefathers were born, and it will still remain even after your time is up.

This season is all about being thankful for this year and the blessings that came with it, and it is only right to be positive that something good awaits us all in 2017. If you’re one of those bitter Christmas celebrants, still, offer a prayer and a thank-you note to the man above for another year in your life.

It’s still Christmas. So, merry Christmas everyone, and a happy new year!