Making Christmas Happen
Ivan John Clement| Mon, 15 Dec 2008 10:27:57 AM | 
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Last December 13, a few friends and I visited the kids at East Avenue Medical Center to give gifts and to try to cheer them up this Christmas.
Being 'horizontally-endowed' has its advantages, like getting to play Santa! In my mind, I didn't want to. But as I was putting on the Santa costume, I slowly succumbed to the idea that "Hey, this would be fun!"
I had two "elves" with me to help me in my mission. Donning red costumes and carrying gifts in laundry bags, and merienda from Jollibee, we set off to "fulfill our calling," bring joy and happiness to mankind (well at least to the kids and their parents in the hospital), and make Christmas happen!
What surprised me a lot was that these people didn't even know who Santa is! Normally you would expect kids to huddle over and get giddy at the sight of Santa - but in this case, they didn't! Is it because they aren't that exposed to the media, or because hope has left their young, wee minds?
We talked to the parents to ask how their kids ended up in the hospital. Most of them had pneumonia cases. Most of the infants, meanwhile, were cases of premature birth. We even got one kid who accidentally drunk a small amount of Clorox!
But according to them, these things don't really take away the spirit of Christmas. Aside from the perennial problem of money, they said their relatives were supporting them all along to help them recover from the emotional blow dealt with from the hospitalization of their kids. For them, Christmas is more than giving gifts, going on food trips, and receiving "aguinaldo." Christmas is all about sharing the hope and feeling the love.
In the end, even though we were the ones supposed to "bring joy and happiness to mankind," I felt as if the meaning of Christmas was deeper for them. It reminded me that the real reason why Christmas is here is because of Jesus Christ - the Joy, Hope, and Love of mankind.
It is Him who makes Christmas happen.