Christmas Traditions - Monito/Manita or Kris Kringle

Reading through my old blogs about Christmas, I’ve realized that I have not shared the many Christmas traditions we have in our family to the world wide web (not that it matters, but I just love to blab), and so here’s one of the many things we used to do as kids with our parents and grandparents:  The Monito/Monita with a twist.

Starting from 15^th December, the day before Christmas officially starts in the Philippines with the Simbang Gabi (Dawn Mass for 9 days), we create code names for ourselves – my parents, my brothers, my grandmother and any house help we had at that time – using our dilapidated but in good working condition typewriter so there is no chance one would be able to guess the real person using their handwriting.

Names would be as silly a Snoopy, Knight Rider, Superman, Barbie, etc.   Based on past experiences, Barbie does not necessarily mean the real person behind the alias is a girl.  It could be someone trying hard to throw you off!  So on 15^th December, mom or dad cuts an A4 paper in 8 equal parts and each one, in privacy with the typewriter types his or her codename/alias, rolls it and drops it on an empty fish bowl.  Then, when everyone else has done it, we all take out a rolled paper off the bowl and secretly read the name on it.  If one get his own name, he calls “again!” and everyone rolls their papers and drops it back in to pick a new one, until everyone has absolutely another alias not their own in their hands.  The key is not to reveal who it is you got so no one know anything.

Then a huge box, covered with colourful Christmas wrappers of old is brought in and placed by the landing on the stairs next to the altar and the Christmas tree.  Then a poster-sized paper is posted on the wall showing the kinds of gifts one would be giving their secret “monita or monito” (this was maybe from Spanish, monito means a small toy?) – the beneficiary of their presents.  Again to keep it more fun, never reveal your real alias as well as who is it that you picked so the surprise intensifies as Christmas day approaches.

So from 16^th December to 24^th December you give your “beneficiary” 9 gifts depending on the theme.  We usually start with “Something Red” and end up with “Something Big” for the 24^th.  This means that on Christmas Eve, you have 9 presents waiting for you in the big box under the tree!  What could be more exciting than that?  Well the revelation of who you are and who your beneficiary is, of course!  By day 3 we would all be guessing who is who but no one would reveal anything.  So the mystery keeps everyone excited.

One time, my secret giver was dad and he didn’t put any gift in the box until the very end.  I was so worried as I checked each day for a present for me, but of course no one knew it was me, and found that all the presents there were for someone else.  I didn’t know dad was trying to find out who was “Hulk Hogan”, my alias that year because he wanted to know the real gender and was figuring out who was looking sad when they looked in the box and not finding any present for themselves.  But everyone got so good at secret-keeping and acting that on Christmas Eve we are usually fairly surprised about the true identities of our family members.  Imagine my grandmother had been “Spiderman” and my youngest brother, who would usually go for a popular cartoon or Disney character, was “Frank Sinatra” whom we all thought was dad!  One time, everyone thought I was “Charlie Brown” (being a Snoopy fan) when it was actually mom!  We had fun thinking up common enough names but not too common that we would easily be identified with it.   Often when we watch TV shows or movies and a cool name comes up, we’d all laugh and say that could be a good alias and usually it does get used by one of us: Homer Simpson, Alf, Michael Jackson…even Chuck Norris!  These names and many more have all been used through the years.

The gifts are usually everyday practical things that a guy or girl could use.  It could be anything from 20 pesos up to 50 pesos.  Usually at the last, the “Something Big”, we could splurge a little to make it more special.  

Some ideas for the “somethings” are:

•  Something Red:  anything red like a hairbrush, comb, t-shirt, face-towel…silly one would be a huge bottle of ketchup or a can of tomato or spaghetti sauce!
•  Something Green: same as red but of course in green; green bath soaps or towels, stationery sets in green, etc.

• Something White: cotton buds, a huge roll of kitchen or toilet tissue, a pillow (usually can also be used for something soft)

•  Something Hard: can openers, book ends, paper-weights (can also be used for something heavy)

• Something Soft: face towels, stuffed toys, socks…I once got a huge pack of marshmallows!

• Something Shiny: metallic things like key chains, stationery sets with glitters, penlights, flashlights, anything that shines really.

• Something Heavy: dumb bells, packets of pasta (from the same person who gave spaghetti sauce!), an atlas or dictionary (days before the Internet), big bottles of shampoos or baby powder (that are usually also something big)

• Something Round: soaps, balls, bath products, I got a magic-eight ball one year J

• Something Big: huge pillows, huge plush toys, bath products in big bottles or jars, once I got a huge cassette player!

Some years we’d change the game a bit and thrown in Something Long or Something Pointy or Something Sticky in the list.  You've got to be creative and come up with gifts that could be used by both genders as well as meet the 'required "something"' from the list.

For me and my brothers, we have to also be creative in earning some cash for December.  We usually sell ice-candies during summer or sell our old newspapers and used bottles, as well as save a percentage off our daily allowances to have enough for our Monito/Monita at home.  Mom and dad would also give us a bit of extra cash to help us with our presents.  But no matter what you get or what you give, it is such a joy to open your presents together being your very own Santa Claus to one another.   We spend the hours just after midnight revealing who we are, opening our presents and laughing at what we got or what we gave away.

My grandmother and dad have both passed on and my mom and brothers live in different homes with their own families but the memories of those Christmases and the joy we had in giving and receiving continue to warm my Christmases up to this day.

It is not too late to start your own Christmas traditions with your family or the tribe that you live with.  Why not start your own kind of traditions today.  Happy Christmas and a blessed New Year to all.

Santacruzan in Al Ain

May in the desert leaves you feeling the heat of the summer to come but for a while, we forgot that and set it aside to celebrate the first ever Flores de Mayo also known as Santacruzan in St. Mary's Church here in Al Ain, The United Arab Emirates.  As expected, parents were more excited than their children, as many of them kids were born and raised here, and have no idea how big a deal it is to be chosen as one of the reynas or sagalas in a Flores de Mayo parade.  Even my daughter, who just told me she was asked to be one of the girls for a parade; so matter-of-fact.

Early on, she decided that she would wear her Filipiniana dress (actually, a baro at saya) - the one she wore during the UAE National Day parade last December.  Each year, when we go home to the Philippines, I always make it a point to buy her a baro't saya just in case there would be school events like National Day, United Nations or Philippine Independence Day celebrated at her school.  For a few years now, she's always been asked to wear a Filipino costume either for the United Nations month or the UAE National Day as they paraded in school or one time, all over Al Ain.  I asked her if she wanted me to add colour/designs on her communion dress (more like a gown, meaning more elaborate!) and wear that instead but she insisted on her simple Filipiniana terno.  Fine.  One can only be a stage mother up to a certain point. Jeesh!  But I respect my daughter's level-headedness and in many ways, thankful that she is an equalizer to my flighty, outlandish ways.

On the night before the parade, which was to be held on a Friday (the weekend here), parents came to church to decorate each of their kid's arch.  I have no idea how to do this!  Many parents bought plastic flowers and vines from the shops to decorate their kid's arches but I used paper and the art origami to make flowers and butterflies to decorate Amber's arch.  It became our "family project" with both Amber and my husband Oliver helping.  Amber, the scotch tape human dispenser and Oliver the staple-gun toting (and trigger happy!) securer of the flowers and butterflies onto the bamboo arch.  It was actually fun in a way and we used the time to bond as a family.

To view how to make origami flowers, here's a link: http://www.origami-instructions.com/origami-daisy.html
And here's a video on how to make butterflies: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4L5nDDgEEk

The next day, the actual day of the parade, it was literally a hair and make-up frenzy as parents and relatives brushed, teased, gelled and sprayed hairs in place, applied foundation and eye shadows, gloss and lipstick to the girls, even pinned tiaras and attached wings!  I watched amazed but the general feeling is jovial and fun.  Fit for a fiesta, if only there had been lechon!  My daughter was late and missing - as after Catechism, there follows a children's mass.  Almost everyone who are part of the Santacruzan was pulled out right after the Catechism but Amber was not aware so she proceeded to children's mass.  I was feeling stressed about the time, seeing many little sagalas already made-up and ready.  I sat, sans my child, watching in earnest the scene that is unfolding in front of me transforming little girls into angels and some into princesses and queens.

As soon as Amber was free, the dressing up and the making up was like a blur as we worked as automatons unaware of everything around us, only the fact that she had to be ready in the fastest time possible.  If there was any competition for fastest dressed and made up reyna, it would be her/us, for as soon as we were done (I think they were just waiting for us to get done!) everyone was ushered onto a queue in the order that they appear, ready to march to the Hail Mary song.

A couple of guys helped carry her arch and so march they went inside the small compound inside St. Mary's Church.  The heat endured for a few minutes to highlight our faith (maybe) but moreso, our culture (definitely) as Filipinos in a foreign land.  Had this been held in the Philippines, the parade would have lasted for hours with crowds gathering and many people marching along with lighted candles.  The walk from church and back again, a challenge to young feet in heels.  Luckily for those girls in heels, it only took a few minutes.  Amber wisely wore a comfortable bakya (sandals) that matched her Filipiniana terno.  One I would advise future sagalas to do.  The gowns are long so even rubber shoes would work!

And yes, although Santacruzan reynas wore gowns, the norm is that it features the Philippine-ness of the gowns so traditionally a terno (imagine Imelda Marcos and her butterfly-shouldered gowns) and not prom dresses.  Yes, Amber was right in her decision to use her baro't saya.  Santacruzan Reynas should look classy, respectable; not like slutty prom girls, excuse me!  But that's just me.  Apologies to those who might feel offended.

Below are some photos of our little Amber Declan who paraded as Reyna Caridad (Queen of Charity).  My phones were both on low battery mode so my shots were limited.  My husband who had his Canon took many more photos but will take time to convert them from raw to jpeg then even longer to upload them.  I recall my own childhood days in a similar Santacruzan scenario, even my brother, Alvin was a consorte on one of the many Santacruzans of our childhood...and despite being far away, we have a slice of Filipino in our midst to share with fellow Pinoy families. and perhaps, even faith - to keep us not so homesick as well as hopeful.  Viva Reyna Elena, Viva Flores de Mayo!

Read more about Flores de Mayo from these links below:

Wikipedia on Flores De Mayo

Flores De Mayo from SEAsite

Flores De Mayo from Utrecht University

Keep Calm And Enjoy The Silence

It's the second week of the Spring Break and it is eerily quiet here in the Library.  Aside from my daughter, who likes coming to work with me, there's just, well, me!  My colleague Iftikhar had gone for some training in Dubai and I am all to my lonesome self here.  But wait, I'm not really lonely.  I'm alone but quite happy to be alone.  For now.

I can hear the fluorescent lights buzzing at intervals.  I look out the huge library windows and I can see the college cat, pregnant, lazing by the shade of a palm tree.  My daughter is busy watching Hetalia, an anime about countries being people.  I decide to blog.  But what to write?

Blogger and I have this on again, off again relationship for some time now.  When blogging was new, I was at it almost everyday, creating posts like I would in the pages of a diary or personal journal.  But as the years went on the novelty or recording everything I thought about, felt, even ate, lost its allure.  Also, with some malicious people trying to invade your security/private spaces, it's considered a major faux pas to post anything personal in your blogs.  There are just too many con artists and now, the throng of cyber con artists is growing that posting anything personal could lead to your loss of identity or your credit cards being maxed out.  Besides, who would want to know about what you had for breakfast and why would that knowledge be any useful to anyone but yourself?

So I ponder on what I should write about.  Why blog?  About.com gives the top 10 reasons why people blog.  I'm for helping people, sharing information, connecting with friends and family and also satisfying my creativity so I guess, that's why I do blog.  To make money? Yeah, I'd probably like that but I've never figured out how to blog for money.  Blogger is free.  That in itself it already a perk for me!  For fame?  Read this post about mom bloggers, and you can see some of the hidden reasons why many of us blog.  To change the world?  Wow, that's right out there with world peace and keeping the planet green...totally superhero stuff but really, how does that work if no one ever reads your blog?

But it's out there.  My words.  Something old, something new, something borrowed, and maybe some things are blue (blue as in, sad; not the colour).  Like a graffiti on walls, silently screaming "I was here!"  they exist.  Out on the World Wide Web, for anyone to read.  I exist! I live! My blog proves it.

A student arrives, breaking my blog thoughts as he asks for help with his printing.  I tell him he ought to be enjoying himself at home or taking a short trip somewhere now that it is Spring break but he just smiles adding that he's got a million other stuff to do with his project and other assignments.  I ask him, "Do you blog?"  He looks puzzled and shakes his head.  But he tells me he's on Instagram and shows me some photos from his phone.

Words, pictures, recommended songs. wall posts, likes and pokes, tweets and comments.  They may be in different forms but they do seem to show one thing: I'm here!

If aliens from other planets do exists, our years of broadcasting, now add to that pod-casting, online postings, and what nots should have alerted them that, "Hey Martians, we're here!  We exist."  The fluorescent lights' buzzing seem to be like Morse codes, sending signals out to universe, supporting my thoughts as I kill time by keeping calm and blogging on.