Every time the month of December comes, we find ourselves overwhelmed with so many concerns that are not quite common during the rest of the year. We are back to that time of the year now.
For one, it entails many expenses to incur for the entire family. Household members who are yet studying have to attend their school Christmas parties that usually solicit contributions. They, too, have to buy gifts for the exchange of gifts. And if the parties prescribe certain costumes, then they would have to spend much for said outfits.
December, moreover, makes people extremely busy. Families become busy with various preparations as each person in the family gets to attend not just one, but several Christmas parties, depending on the offices, organizations, and groups that they are associated with. Concerned individuals and groups attend their respective appointments, all having to do with the biggest celebration of the year.
Not just the busiest, and the most expensive, but the month, fortunately, is the most joyful time of the year. People normally tend to be happy during this time, from adults down to small children. There’s just that prevailing spirit that makes people happy, and that obviously is due to the fact that God’s Son was born to become the savior of mankind.
Since it’s the busiest, the nosiest, the most joyous, and the most cash-draining time of the year, we must therefore prepare for it—as individuals, as families, as communities, and as a nation. We must brace for untoward incidents, such as health impairment brought about by sumptuous foods, street revelries that involve firecrackers, troubles that come from drunkenness, and even the accumulation of garbage from too many festivities.
Clash of cultures
Rural and urban residents sometimes clash with their differing beliefs since it cannot be denied that, though living on the same islands, we Filipinos have varied cultural traditions and practices as exhibited by these two inhabitants.
As can be observed, people in remote areas tend to be superstitious. They have plenty of beliefs that are anchored on superstitions, that was still inherited from their forbears. As a result of these beliefs, they practice rituals and other observances that eventually identify them with the ancients, which are no longer observed by people in urban areas.
Urban dwellers, on the other hand, are mostly skeptical as regards the existence of deities and unseen beings. They are heavily influenced by Western ideas and practices that look down on superstitious beliefs. They are more exposed to advances in science and technology that, as we know, entirely disregard anything that is supernatural in nature. And so, it is not surprising that these people would sometimes mock and ridicule superstitious practices.
When these people clash over this issue, they differ a lot, even accusing one another, or threatening one another with consequences. When, for example, urban dwellers would go to farmlands and happen to do certain acts that the locals consider to be offensive to the gods, the latter would warn the former that bad omen would come their way unless they will appease those deities through some kind of sacrifice.
These sacrifices, if undone, may result in mysterious sickness on the part of the offenders. The locals would then underscore that, indeed, unseen beings were offended and that they should be offered the required offerings. This may include blood sacrifice—certain animals being killed, their blood spilled on certain spots where the offense was accordingly committed.
Once such a ritual is accomplished, the sickness may eventually go away, thanks to the sacrifice made which, in reality, is a form of worship offered to these gods and goddesses. Just as the illness came mysteriously, the ‘healing’ will likewise disappear in the same manner. This, to the urban residents, are beyond comprehension and logic. But they have no choice but to agree with the said rituals otherwise they would be physically impaired.
Rural folks, on the other hand, are shocked at how city lifeways operate. They can’t fathom, for instance, that almost every move in the metropolis requires money. The advances in communication, transportation, etc., are mind-boggling to them. They can’t imagine that, with a click of a finger, people can already communicate with one another. Moreover, they can virtually talk to each other face-to-face, via mobile phones or tablets, even if they are continents apart.
These differences and lifeways set the urban and rural people apart, in seemingly different worlds. When they meet, a clash of cultures ensues, and the results may not at all be that pleasant, but all the more confusing.