The Department of Education urges schools to hold simple but meaningful Christmas celebrations that bring out the real essense of the occasion.

MANILA, Philippines — There will be no exchange gifts and song and dance numbers, nor party food and monito/ monita for the students of teacher Geruel Pentecostes. In this teacher’s classroom at the Camarines Norte National High School (CNNHS) in Daet, there will be no Christmas party this year.

With or without a memo from the Department of Education (DepEd) calling for austerity in Christmas celebrations in public schools, this teacher and his students would still forego a Christmas party. They just cannot afford it.

“Alam natin mahirap ang buhay. Maraming mga estudyante ang hindi nakakapagbayad ng miscellaneous fees, lalo na ang magbigay ng kontribusyon para sa Christmas party. Additional burden lang ito sa mga magulang. Kaya nagkasundo kami na huwag na lang mag party,” explains Pentecostes.

CNNHS General Parent Teachers Association president Josefa Yasis says Christmas parties usually generate more expenses for the parents who have to shell out not just money for their child’s share in the food but also expenses for the exchange gift and clothes.

“Hindi puwedeng gawing simple ang Christmas party kasi ang mga bata gusto rin may bago silang damit at regalo sa exchange gift.

Kadalasan pa nga pag wala silang damit, ayaw na nilang magpunta. Sa eskuwelahan namin, napagkasunduan ng PTA na gamitin ang pondo sa pagtulong sa mga hindi nakakabayad ng miscellaneous expenses. Ito yung mga gastos ng mga estudyanteng sumasali sa mga contests,” she reveals.

Pentecostes adds that through this example, they hope students would learn to set their priorities and make little sacrifices.

SIMPLE BUT MEANINGFUL

Education Secretary Br. Armin Luistro points out though that the DepEd memo doesn’t prohibit any school from celebrating the Yuletide season with parties. In fact, he says there are many creative ways to celebrate Christmas and hold get-togethers without having to spend so much money.

“Hindi namin sinasabi na huwag kayong magdiwang. Ang sinasabi namin mayroong mga paraan ng pagdiwang, kung ito man ay Pasko, birthday, despidida o graduation na hindi kailangan ng malakihang fundraising or kaya malaking gastos. Kung maaari, gawin nating simple pero pag simple hindi kailangang mukhang kawawa. Ang nakikita ko ngang mga makahulugang selebrasyon ay yung may partisipasyon ang buong komunidad at nagkakaisa na parang bayanihan,” stresses Luistro.

The Secretary recently called on schools to refrain from holding lavish and compulsory holiday celebrations and to strictly observe the guidelines in the DepEd Order 114, series of 2009 on the holding of simple Christmas parties. Among these are that contributions in schools whether in cash or in kind, should be strictly voluntary; decorations should be simple and inexpensive, and to some extent, made by students and teachers; gift giving should be guided by the spirit of sharing and should not lead to extravagant spending; schools who decide to forego Christmas parties must consider donating savings to relief assistance for families affected by recent calamities; and disruption of academic activities should be minimized.

Schools who fail to follow these guidelines will be held liable and may face administrative sanctions such as reprimands or suspension for the principals.

NO PARTIES, JUST SHARING

At the San Pedro Relocation Center National High School in San Pedro, Laguna, teachers have not been holding Christmas parties for several years now. They rather spend the time for outreach activities.

Principal Dr. Vic Medrano says they have planned to visit the home for elderly people on Dec. 19 and bring canned goods and other food items to them. Last year, they held the Christmas outreach activity at a drug rehabilitation center. In previous years, they donated Noche Buena food baskets to the school’s 10 poorest students. The funds came from the savings of the teachers.

“Lubos ang kaligayahan pag nagbibigay ka sa charity. Mayroon namang pa party ang Mayor namin tuwing Pasko para sa mga teachers kaya doon nalang kami sumasali,” shares Medrano.

The same tradition of sharing with indigent students is also being observed at the Angeles City National Trade School in Pampanga. To avoid discrimination though, principal Aida Galura says they just tell the students that they were the lucky ones selected by Santa Claus to receive the food baskets. They regularly hold cultural performances on their foundation day to raise funds for these outreach activities.

The students of both schools hold simple parties with minimal contributions. Galura, for her part, have decided to be strict in implementing the DepEd guidelines among her students who have a tendency to hold lavish celebrations.

“Mga estudyante kasi ang nagplaplano ng mga parties sa klase nila. Kadalasan ginagawa nila sa swimming pool o bar ang parties. Pero this year may parent na nagsumbong sa akin kaya naglabas ako ng memo na two hours lang ang party at sa loob lang ito ng school gagawin. Kung maaari potluck lang o mag ambag ambag lang ng kakaunti para sa pagkain nila,” discloses Galura. She adds that it is important for students to be taught how to live simply and within their means.

Secretary Luistro, meanwhile, says people should always be reminded of the real meaning of Christmas.

“We can celebrate even with very limited resources, because being poor does not deprive us of the very essence of Christmas. The spirit of Christmas is really families and friends getting together and bonding with each other. I think there's no better way of seeing that as in the manger itself. In the poorest of situations, the biggest joy in the world happened and poverty and lack of resources is not an excuse not to bring out the best in people,“ ends Luistro.