This is the season.........

Christmas is just around the corner. People are now busy shopping and preparing to celebrate this season of love and giving. I remember in the Philippines, the season starts as early as September. People start spending and preparing for Christmas Day and when it comes, pooof, the day is done.
I don't want to be negative today but a situation that happened a few hours ago makes me really look at the negative side of how we people came about and celebrate this season. I am actually doing a draft of my recent trip to Hawaii but then again, I would like to vent my present mood. And so it goes.....
I recall in my grade school years at Immaculate Heart of Mary College in Quezon City, which were run by Nuns, that Christ who was born on this day, teaches us living in the simpliest way. He was a Gift from God and a symbol of God's love for us. Thus, Christmas which is the birth of Christ, becomes a symbol of giving and loving and live his life in the simpliest way.
Through the years, it has become a tradition to give gifts and show love for our friends. People buy gifts for their friends and acquaintances and even their "enemies" at work. No matter what the Economist tell us on how the economy is bad and going down, people still queue it up at the cashiers of stores, malls and the like. Lucky are those who can really afford. I admit I was one of them who equate Christmas with money in order to have a happy holiday. I became one of those people who go to malls and shops and compete with other people buying so many things that makes me think do they really want these? And do I really need these things that I am buying right now. Christmas then has become a season of shopping sale; buying things we really don't need, getting hold or whatever fad that is there that season.
I remember trying so hard to grab every duty in the hospital just to have more than enough pay for Christmas day. I forgot what my mom and dad taught me in previous Christmases when we celebrate the season in the most simple way, no lavish gift, few here and there, no buffet at the table, just a pot of may dad's very delicious arroz caldo, but what is more important for that day was we were all together, go to mass and talk. That was the perfect Christmas. A simple reminder and a day of thanks for what this day really means.
After shopping and on your way home, reality sets in. You would notice street people, asking for alms, old ones looking worried and probably thinking where I would get my money to buy my family something for Christmas, kids in their shabby clothes, their eyes on other kids holding nice toys, a very sad scene, really. Peoples life plan changes in this season, their priority changes to things they don't need and only thinks they need it because its the fad or what is "in" during this time. I know its their right to celebrate Christmas, but again, one can celebrate it without all these shopping. Gone were the days when a simple Christmas card would be enough to brighten the season.
Anyway, because of this mentality that we equate Christmas with lavish living, people would also start doing stupid things just to be " in". Robbery, hold up,, snatching etc, becomes rampant and this year I became one of the victims. And this is why I have this blog.
Earlier this morning, at around 3:30, I was roused from my sleep by a thumping sound coming from my window. I thought it was Kikoy, my cat who was doing the sound trying to catch his favorite toy, live lizards. I did not try to shoo him away that time. Probably 3 or 4 thumps that I heard. Then later, I was roused again by the sound of my cell phone. Every time you would remove the phone from its charger it would make a sound. So again I thought it was Kikoy chasing his latest victim and got tangled up with the cellphone charger wire. Then the cellphone lit up and when I look, the light was moving. I thought it fell down but instinct told me that something was wrong.
I stood up and there, a man who is in my house!. I shouted at him and gave chase but he ran and I even think jumped from my veranda to the ground floor. I turned on the lights and was trying to check what was taken. On my work table, was my digital camera, electronic book and wallet were still there. My entertainment center was in order, my back pack where my laptop is was still in the same place it was, my sunglasses are still in my divider so it was just my cell phone he took interest in. The front door was open and that was his escape route. It made me think how did he got in? Was it through the door that I forgot to lock? Then I remember the thumping sound when I saw Kikoy coming if the house. I check my window and there you have it folks, the entry point. Lucky for him I was charging my cell phone that time so he was able to get the charger with it. My Land Lady and her son came up a few minutes after and apparently heard me shout. I told them my suspicion that that person knows and has been in this place because he knows which window can be easily pried opened and where I usually put my things in. Beside the window was my entertainment center where I keep my DVDs and DVD player. He could just easily go through it and not even enter the house. I thought of calling the police but what will they do? It also made me think that if he would have done it 2 days earlier, it would have been a jackpot for him, because I was off-island for a week. Well again, since this is the season of giving, then let him have it, he probably needs it more than I do. And since this is a day of thanksgiving, I am also thankful that that was all that happened this morning.