Grown up Christmas wish
Published Dec 25, 2021 12:05 am
For many, Christmas has come without much fanfare this year, quite similar from 2020. Yet the meaning of the season — both its religious origin and cultural significance among Filipinos —has not been lost, particularly with the recent outpouring of volunteerism in the wake of Typhoon Odette, not to mention the still ongoing pandemic. It is with these in mind that the Manila Bulletin released a video for the holidays, available for viewing in both YouTube and Facebook, with the Christmas wish as its theme.
What is your wish today, this Christmas?
It’s a question that’s been asked many a Christmas before and will continue to be asked more Christmasses hence. It’s a question that was answered on that first Christmas over 2,000 years ago, for those who follow Christianity. It’s a question that a Christmas song has tried to answer every season.
No more lives torn apart, so the song goes. And what a fitting wish that is. As the Manila Bulletin’s ad reminds us: “Christmas won’t be the same without the ones we love.” As real as the losses of the past couple of years have been because of this crisis the world continues to face, the hope that humanity will soon overcome it shines over the horizon, over the prospect of a new year. Hope, after all, is the central message of the season.
That wars would never start, the song continues — a wish that has been in the hearts of every good human being since humankind first realized the disastrous consequences of war.
And time would heal our hearts, the song adds. With everything that has happened this past year and the one before it, almost everyone has suffered in one way or another, physically for some, emotionally for others, mentally for many. Healing, together with hope, is a theme that flows from the very core of Christmas, when Christ came to heal the wounds caused by humanity’s sin.
Everyone would have a friend, the lyrics go. Now more than ever, a true friend has become indispensable. The past couple of years have tested a lot of things, including friendships. 'Tis the season, as that other Yuletide carol goes, to forge stronger bonds.
And right would always win, the song’s chorus goes. And, indeed, how we wish that what is right would always prevail, that what is true would always be upheld, and that the crucial year that is 2022 would be witness to this.
And love would never end, the chorus closes. Love. Another theme central to this season, together with hope and healing. Throughout all the challenges and hardships that 2021 has brought, another thing that has kept humankind going is love. It starts, as that first Christmas did, with love for your family and love for your neighbor, stemming ultimately from that Love made man. Love, after all, when it is true and pure, can overcome even the most difficult circumstances, can conquer even the worst natural disaster. Love, indeed, is the greatest wish we could ask for anyone this season.