DAVAO CITY – At around this time of the year in the downtown streets of San Pedro and Uyanguren here, assorted holiday decors, Christmas lanterns toys, and other gift items used to enjoy brisk sales ahead of Christmas Day.
Stalls would be built on every inch of the already narrow sidewalks as shoppers jockey for position for the best buys.
But almost like magic, everything completely changed this year in the time of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
Gone are the colorful lights and wrappers of the holiday items as they have been replaced by flower pots and various health and safety devices like face shields, face masks.
Vendor Norliza Amintao told The Manila Bulletin that her family used to produce and sell Christmas lanterns in the past, and enjoyed good sales even as early as November.
But this year, they tried doing the same thing last month, but no one is buying.
“May mga lanterns man kami pero nasa bahay lang dahil wala naman bumibili. May mga nag inquire lang pero di naman umo-order. Hindi kagaya noon na November pa lang may mga orders na kami (We have lanterns but we just keep them at home now because no one buys them. There were those who inquired but they did not order. It was different last year. We would receive orders as early as November)” lamented Amintao, a Maranaw trader.
So to respond to the demand of the times, Amintao’s family decided to sell face maks, face shields, and flower pots this time.
Another street vendor is Raihana Bantayaw, who sells plant pots in assorted colors and sizes.
“Ito na naman kasi ang uso ngayon dahil ang mga tao nasa bahay lang. Kaya mas maraming pots ngayon kaysa mga Christmas decors (These are what people look for these days because they are mostly at home. That's why there are more pots than Christmas decors now),” said Bantayaw, who is also a Maranaw trader.
Bantayaw admitted that she could earn up to P2,000 in some days.
As quarantine restrictions have literally limited the movement of the people, many have spent most of their time tending to their gardens at home. Some are into flower gardening while others are into vegetable gardening.
“(As Muslims) Hindi naman kami nagce-celebrate ng Christmas pero napansin namin na parang nawala ang spirit of Christmas dahil sa pandemya (We do not really celebrate Christmas, but we noticed that the Christmas spirit have diminished due to the pandemic),” Bantayaw said.
For Amintao, she attributed the scarcity of Christmas decors being sold on the streets to the absence of face-to-face classes and scrapping of Christmas gatherings in the city.
“Dahil walang pasok sa mga eskwelahan at wala ng Christmas parties, kaya rin wala na rin bumbili ng mga décors at gift wrappers. Bukod pa sa crisis din ngayon (No one buys decors and gift wrappers because there are no actual classes in schools and there are no more Christmas parties. Aside from that, we are really in a crisis right now),” she noted.