You guessed it! Yes, ladies and gentleman, Christmas season has once again descended on beautiful Davao City. What's that you say? "It's only September." Ah, but of course. Surely you are familiar with Christmas etiquette? No? Well, allow me to enlighten you.
The ninth month of the year is distinctive from the eight that prodeed it. (Pardon the malapropism in the preceding sentence, but I'm in a strange mood. Shall I proceed?) The secret is in the final syllable: -ber. Yes "ber" as in: "'brrrr it's cold out there', Sally said as she stamped the melting snow from her boots and happily greeted the warmth emanating from the cozy fire" (excerpts from A Filipino Fantasy Land).
The wonderful thing about September is that it shares its surname with months 10 through 12. What does this mean for the residents of the Philippines? Four months of unrelenting Christmas cheer!
Culture shock can strike at unexpected times, in unexpected places. It can also strike in the same way on several different occasions. Today it struck me in the same way that it did a year ago. Bethany and I were doing a bit of grocery shopping, minding our own business, when we suddenly became aware that the ghost of Bing Crosby had once again been summoned to remind us of a time and place where the tree tops glistened.
I can assure you that this was not some sort of programming error at the radio station. No, the station managers have been patiently waiting for the -ber months for eight months now. So it was with a heavy heart that I realized that I am now in for four glorious months Christmas merriment. Humbug!
We left the grocery store with Santa Claus is Coming To Town fading in the distance. Well, my Filipino friends, he's not coming for another four months...so give it a rest!
This was just another edition of Tim's Inane Rambling. Please be sure to read my more important post from the weekend, which can be found directly below this one. Thanks!
4 comments:
Tim,
I, for one, am excited to be experiencing the Christmas Season in the Philippines. Can hardly wait to hear Bing and Frank croon in the holidays there. FUN!
MOM Mc
Funny, funny, hilarious!! I'm with you Tim, all that Christmas cheer so far in advance would drive me bonkers. I thought North America was bad! One week before Christmas would suit me just fine...ah, but Bethany must think she's in heaven when September rolls around. Guess you'll just have to suck it up! That reminds me...gotta start thinking about what i'm going to send in your Christmas package this year. I dodn't want it arriving in February again!
Merry Christmas! Love Nicole
Does that mean you get to eat more candycanes?! Even for this girl who loves Christmas, 4 months is toooo long!
feliz navidad! kate
I'm sorry, I think this is hilarious.
Then again, I was SOOO bummed to have missed out on getting some sort of video of the shop clerks dancing every however long, when the bell dinged in the stores. I was laughing so hard I was crying when I saw this for the first time while there, and the clerks stopped everything to ALL do the Macarena!! Hahaha.
I can't imagine 4 months of Christmas songs and merriment! I LOVE the Christmas season. I might just be in heaven there. ;)
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