It was yet another unforgettable adventure, when I went again to Manila, the city of our affections. Nothing could compare to the beauty of its twinkling lights at night that can make you drown in obsession. Anyone could succumb to addiction to the ambience of the hard patters of the people walking, the faint chatter of the people talking, the wind that blows when vehicles pass through, and the hard clang when the jeepney honks.
How wonderful would it be to spend the yule in the city of our affections – Manila. But what is then, the essence of Christmas?
It was 24th of December, when we arrived in Manila, the city was bustling with so much activity unlike the little city where I come from. When the night came for the city, we had to take a walk and buy food for Noche Buena. I was surprised, walking in the night so safely felt so good, it was as if the city lights were protecting us, it kept us away from bad omen.
Then, the 25th came, we went to the Venice Grand Canal Mall, it was a surreal experience to be there. Wind would blow to us, and everyone’s hair would resemble lion manes in the strong wind blows; airplanes would frequent the skies above us and they unfailingly get everyone’s eyes looking at them all the time; the monumentality of the buildings that surround us fills me with pure astonishment. Then we walked, on the gray pavements of McKinley Hill, that fifteen minutes of my life that I spent walking made me decide, I wanted to live sometime at this place.
Then come did the 26th, we went to Circuit Makati, it was a nostalgic experience taking me back to those days when I was still in seventh-grade when I also visited this very same place. We went onto what resembled an azotea at the top of the mall, the view was spectacular, the Makati skyline looked like a painting in front of my very eyes. As I gazed upon the skyline under the tranquility of the night sky, I thought to myself, “Maybe the night isn’t scary at all with the city lights.” There I decided, I wanted to live in a city where the night is swallowed by its lights.
I guess, there is no essence in Christmas, it depends on everyone; no one could ever define the essence of Christmas, but everyone could define the essence of their own Christmas. With that in mind, I would define the essence of my Christmas as being a time of reflection as it made me reflect on the things which I should strive for as I face the future. I guess what I’m trying to say is that there is no essence in Christmas until we celebrate it ourselves, and that essence, depends on how each of us celebrate it; the little things that we act upon are what make up the essence of Christmas.
Let’s celebrate Christmas in our own way and define its essence! 🦖
Thank you for stretching your attention span long enough to read until the very end! 🧡
REFERENCE/S:
Real, J. (2022). [Rooftop lights on the Ayala Malls Circuit Makati at night.] [Photograph].
Real, J. (2022). [A residential tower and a mixed-use two-storey building in Sta. Ana, Manila at night.] [Photograph].
Real, J. (2022). [A view on the bridge at Venice Grand Canal Mall, McKinley Hill.] [Photograph].
Real, J. (2022). [Makati skyline at night, viewed from the rooftop of Ayala Malls Circuit Makati.] [Photograph].
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