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Manila Bulletin devider Opinion devider Christmas threes 

Christmas threes 

Published Dec 16, 2020 11:35 pm
MEDIUM RARE Jullie Y. Daza The Holy Trinity. Heaven Man Earth. The Holy Family, Joseph, Mary, Baby Jesus. The Three Kings. Three groups of witnesses:  Angels . . . Shepherds . . . Beasts. A trio of stars. The Star of Bethlehem. The star topping the twinkling tree in the living room. The star-shaped lantern hanging by the window, “parol.” The three purple candles of Advent (and only one in pink). Icons of the season: Christmas tree . . . Santa Claus . . . Gaily wrapped presents. Triple treat for noche buena: lechon, hamon, queso de bola. Missing, the three nostalgic sounds of Christmas:  Jingle Bells. . . traditional carols like “Ang Pasko ay Sumapit” . . . golden hits sung by Sinatra, Streisand, Presley. The 12 days of Christmas, Dec. 25 - Jan. 6, remind us that Christmas Day is the joyful start, not the end of the exhausting holidays. Speaking of the parol, it would be a disservice to our grandchildren if the tradition were to die out through sheer neglect or lack of appreciation. Made of bamboo, rice paper, cardboard, and string, it is not as easy as it looks. In their monograph “Parol: Christmas Star Lantern” (2003), Ronnie Alejandro and Vicente Roman Santos show just how fussy the construction can be. Divided into building the frame (9 steps), cover (2), frill (7), tassels (10), and illumination (1), the process may not be as demanding as assembling a nipa hut, but it’s not a job for the impatient and faint of heart. The most intriguing part of the booklet is a poem by Horacio de la Costa, SJ, “Juan de la Cruz Hangs Up a Paper Star,” in which he questions the Persian origins of the Three Kings. “I think it much more likely they/ Set sail from out Manila Bay,” they who were “Kings from my hometown” – Melchor of Tondo, Gaspar who ruled Sampaloc, and Balthazar, lord of Binondo. Fr. De la Costa, who was a man of many talents, lamented how “we have lost the sign of the Kings/ To whom Christmas is merely a feast --/ And merely a time to dance and dine, /with Western music and Western wine/ because a gigantic neon sign has blotted the Star in the East.”

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Jullie Y. Daza
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