PAGBABAGO Dr. Florangel Rosario-Braid Tonight, we bid goodbye to 2022 as we welcome 2023 and the Year of the Black Rabbit which officially begins Jan. 22. According to the Chinese horoscope, it will be a happy year of longevity, discretion, and good luck. The Black Water Rabbit is a harbinger of gentleness and serenity, the art of diplomacy and the end of trying and violent times during the year of the tiger. For many Filipinos and those affected by the pandemic, inflation, and recession, as well as nations that are displaced over conflicts during the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, turmoil in Myanmar, and hunger and famine that continue to prevail in places like Somalia and other African countries, the past few years have been challenging ones. Thus, celebrations of holidays such as Christmas and the New Year have been muted, if not altogether forgotten. This year’s celebration of New Year reminds me of the one 71 years ago when I was 10 years old, one that I had recounted elsewhere. Memories that had happened so long ago are usually forgotten but since New Year 1941 was unusual (the year Pearl Harbor was bombed and the outbreak of World War II), these reminiscences are still etched in my mind. Some of them have been revived with the help of my sister who has a memory like a steel trap. We had evacuated to Barrio Macabito in the town of Malasiqui, which was about 17 kilometers from my town, Dagupan in Pangasinan. It was a nipa house by a sugar cane field and a sugar mill with lots of fruit trees, a vegetable garden, and a pen with chickens. That year though, we were unable to stock up with traditional Christmas and New Year fare like queso de bola, apples, chestnuts, ham, all of which were imports. And even if we had saved money for the barter market, these goods were not only limited but priced beyond our means. We therefore depended on what was available in the backyard. Thus, the fare on our dulang (low table) during both Christmas and New Year holidays were all sourced from the backyard. Two roasted chickens cooked on coconut coals; salad from veggies in the garden – beans, tomatoes, onions; buko (young coconut) with fruits in garden – bananas, melon, papaya. My grandmother, Bai Ereng, made puto bumbong and patupat (rice cake cooked in freshly milled sugar wrapped with coconut leaves). My mother had saved some tsokolate (cacao tablets) which, together with coconut water made our noche buena complete. My sister and I helped our cousin Fred carry water from the well. We also helped clean the house with a broom and a husk made from the coconut leaves and shell. We discovered the 10 uses of the coconut! Before Virgin oil, my father, like many heads of families during those lean years, had to be creative and inventive. Like making butter and soap from the versatile coconut oil. Because of transaction difficulties in using Japanese money which was called “Mickey Mouse” or “invasion money,” we opted to use “barter” in trading goods. We had more rice than what we needed, so we traded the rice from our granary for fresh and dried fish and other goods that we did not have in the backyard. But to go to the nearest market, my grandmother and sister had to hire a carabao-pulled sled as the house we rented was two kilometers away from the main road. For us children, the three-month period in our evacuation site was idyllic. We were able to spend two significant holidays there as well as spend time in the sugar cane field, discovering many lessons in sustainable living! When we returned home in February, we found splintered wood and shattered glass everywhere because of the heavy shelling. We were sad to leave our quiet abode in the countryside where we found peace and solace. My email, [email protected]