By Cecil MORELLA (AFP)
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Nov 7, 2020 in World
The Philippines boasts among the world’s longest Christmas seasons, kicking off in September with fairy lights and artificial trees embellishing shopping centers, joyful tunes on the radio and party-packed calendars.
But the coronavirus pandemic appearances set to be the grinch that ruins the four-month-long event this year.
Gatherings are banned, night-time curfews are in force, church attendance is limited, and many are broke after procedures to contain the infection ravaged the economy and left millions out of work.
Philippine crooner Jose Mari Chan, whose tune “Christmas In Our Hearts” heralds the start of the festivities when it strikes the airwaves on September 1, summed it up: “Sadness surrounds us.”
Household parties, karaoke celebrations and luxurious spending on gifts, which generally mark the countdown to Christmas, have been upended.
However regardless of the bleak conditions, fiesta-loving Filipinos say they are figured out to stop the infection from stealing all their Christmas cheer.
” With or without Covid we have to celebrate Christmas whatever it takes, this is a Filipino custom,” stated Cecilia Moore, using an obligatory mask as she paid 2,500 pesos ($52) for festive lights to embellish her home.
Her spouse temporarily lost his job on an oil tanker when the nation entered into lockdown in March, harming the household’s financial resources.
But Moore said she needed something colourful to resolve the gloom hanging over her household.
Lanterns and lit accessories for sale in San Fernando near Manila as the Philippines gets ready for Christmas
Ted ALJIBE, AFP
It is not clear why Filipinos start celebrating Christmas in September– months before a lot of other countries– but sociologist Yellowbelle Duaqui said it might be cultural: they enjoy to celebration.
Jeffrey Lopez, who makes joyful lights in San Fernando near Manila, stated he has been flat out because reopening in August after a two-month shutdown.
– ‘Kindness and kindness’ –
But numerous retailers are suffering this season.
The Philippines’ normally jam-packed mall– the centre of neighborhood life– are quieter than normal as people stay home for fear of catching the coronavirus
Ted ALJIBE, AFP
” A lot of people lost a lot of money and it’s not that simple to recuperate that,” stated Roehlano Briones, a senior research study fellow at the state-run Philippine Institute for Development Studies.
Christmas festivities during the so-called “Ber months”– which refers to the September-December months ending in -ber– normally drive up consumer spending by about 12-18 percent in the fourth quarter compared with other quarters, Briones stated.
The crooner Chan, explaining himself as a “little drummer boy who declares the development of the Christmas season”, said the pandemic served as a reminder to Filipinos of “what truly matters”.
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