Written By: Nikka G. Valenzuela
As if on cue, Jose Mari Chan’s classic song of girls and boys selling lanterns on the streets, and Mariah Carey’s groovy pop song about her very short wishlist are on loop in every place imaginable—at the mall, in restaurants, at the grocery and on the radio. Parols twinkle and glimmer in parks and major thoroughfares around the city. Just last Thursday, we felt a little drop in temperature.
Christmas is in the air, and it’s promising to be a little better after the very long lockdown we all went through. Carolers are finally allowed to go back to tradition in areas with low number of cases, simbang gabi will begin soon and families can reunite after over a year of cautious meets and physical distancing.
“Believe it or not I’m eating a little less now so I can stuff myself with all the food come December,” said Kristin Sindac.
The aspiring lawyer said that she’s not doing anything special for the coming holidays except to surround herself with the people she holds dear. But if there’s one thing that her family does for bonding, it’s to feast on good food.
“I’m looking forward to cooking with my family since we all love food and dressing up because it’s been two years since the last time I had to be somewhere presentable,” she said.
Christmas in the second year of the pandemic will also be an earnest affair for Ademar Alvarez, who used to travel from the province to Quiapo, Manila, to buy Excellente ham and make his own decorations.
He’s not letting his guard down, especially with the coronavirus around. Still, there’s one tradition that he would not miss: attending May Tinis or the Christmas eve mass at his local church.
While most people will be hearing mass through their TV screens, Alvarez said he will still visit the church, especially since very few people show up physically for mass.
Rafael Antonio, meanwhile, is all set to meet his college buds again this December. For the most part of the lockdown, the corporate communications specialist met his friends through Zoom calls.
Christmas is also a very exciting time for Camille Pagkanlungan, a pastry chef and first-time mom who gave birth to Satine, now eight months old.
“We are very excited for Satine to witness and experience our favorite holiday. I got her a present two months before Christmas as it is a customized handmade gift! I am still undecided whether I would dress her up as an elf, a reindeer or a baby Santa!” the eager mom said.
Pagkanlungan’s fondest memories of her childhood were from Christmas, when her mother would prepare yummy dishes for her and her sisters. This time, Pagkanlungan will personally cook Satine’s first bay-friendly spaghetti (as suggested by the pediatrician).
“I can already imagine Satine’s eyes getting even bigger as she gazes intensely at the blinking lights and the big decorated tree. We hope we can give her a wonderful experience even without a big gathering due to the pandemic,” she added.
Indeed, Christmas is the grandest of holidays in the Philippines, so much so that festivities begin on Sept. 1, and end the following year on Three Kings Day.
There are masses to attend to, reunions, and parties, but there are also endless errands to run, trips to the groceries or the bank or even out of town that the season can be busy and stressful.
The stress of the holiday rush, not to mention the sudden change of weather from hot and humid to chilly, may weaken the immune system. December is not just the season of giving, it’s also the season of cough, colds and flu. And with the coronavirus still around, the last thing we need is to get afflicted with cough and colds.
These days, cough is no longer just a cough. I have been hearing a lot about Solmux Advance, a mucolytic and mineral combination tablet that should be your go-to cough medicine during this holiday season, when cooler weather makes you more vulnerable to it.
Solmux Advance is the only cough formulation in the country that contains zinc, a mineral that strengthens the body to help fight off cough caused by viruses, including coronaviruses. Because of its effectiveness, I was told that it has been proven to significantly help reduce the severity of cough in three days to five days. That’s the zinc working for you!
On top of that, Solmux Advance is widely available in drugstores at around P13 a pop.
During these times, there’s nothing we want more than to stay healthy and be with our loved ones during the holidays. As we count the days for a brighter and more meaningful Christmas, it pays to stay on top of our health as we look forward to a brand new year, with much hope and renewed vigor with our family and friends around.