By Paulo Loreto Lim
Photos by Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga
With Christmas just over a week away, Bacolod City is already immersed in the Christmas spirit.
Bright lights, Christmas trees, and massive displays can be seen across the city. From the bustling SM City Bacolod, the newly-opened Ayala Capitol Central Mall, the iconic Bacolod Public Plaza, among other spots around the “City of Smiles,” Christmas is everywhere one looks.
Exploring the origins of Christmas decorations, Libby-Jane Charleston penned a piece for The Huffington Post-Australia where she explained the beginnings of various Christmas decorations, including Christmas lights.
“In Victorian times, the tree would have been decorated with candles to represent stars,” she wrote. “ In 1895, an American man, Ralph Morris, was concerned about the fire hazard of candles and Christmas trees so he invented the first electric Christmas lights, which are similar to the ones in use today.”
Meanwhile, the History Channel has entire series on Christmas, including one section entitled “History of Christmas Trees.”
They note, ancient Egyptians may have introduced one of the earliest forms of Christmas trees – or in the Egyptians’ case, the use of greenery in a time of celebration. According to their report, the ancient Egyptians worshipped a god called Ra and, when he recovered from illness, “Egyptians filled their homes with green palm rushes which symbolized for them the triumph of life over death.”
History Channel also mentioned the early Romans who feasted during the solstice, decorating homes and temples with evergreen boughs, but they credit the Germans with the Christmas trees most are familiar with today.
“Germany is credited with starting the Christmas tree tradition as we now know it in the 16th century, when devout Christians brought decorated trees into their homes,” they wrote. “It is a widely held belief that Martin Luther, the 16th-century Protestant reformer, first added lighted candles to a tree.”
Today, the Philippines is known for its lavish Christmas celebrations with Avianne Tan writing about it for Buzzfeed a couple years with her article “19 Reasons Filipino Christmas Is Actually The Best.”
Among her list includes “Dreams of a ‘White Christmas’ can still come true, thanks to our white sand beaches;” “You can look forward to even more money when you get your legally-required 13th-Month pay;” “You get fed with puto bumbong at bibingka;” “After Noche Buena mass, you’re rewarded with never-ending Noche Buena dinner;” among other customs and traditions.
Whether the season is celebrated as a religious event, just enjoying time off, or looking forward to a new start with a new year, everybody should be able to relate to the words offered by President Rodrigo Duterte in last year’s Christmas message.
“We, Filipinos, celebrate this occasion with so much joy and happiness. We set aside our daily routine to spend more time with our families. We also share our blessing by giving gifts to our friends and loved ones and holding feasts in our homes and out communities.”/PLL, WDJ
