Christmas is the day when families are supposed to be complete and having fun. In our family, we used to be complete every Christmas Eve. But, things change. Status change. People change.
All of my brothers are married already. They each have their own kids and families. Before, all of them would come home on Christmas Eve and celebrate Christmas with Papa, Mama and me. Sometimes, my cousins and their families would join us in the celebration as well.
Before, all of them would already be in our house at 7pm. Have dinner together. Go to Church together (well for some of us who hear mass). At 10pm, we'll all gather around the sala and wait for the year's Christmas presentation. Yes, we do have Christmas presentations. All of my 3 brothers and their families would compete against each other with the assigned theme given by me. Kuya Pet often gets the first prize - since he was single til he got married. Kuya Boy often presents the most unusual and impromptu act, while Kuya Dennis would often perform with complete props and costume. Our cousins would judge and decide who will win the most coveted cash prize!
We also used to have food-eating games where I divide the group into two and put "secret" food on the table. I remember one time when I placed a straw with holes into the Coke bottle. They thought it was easy, but in the end, their tummies were filled with air!
Plus, we used to have color theme for our outfit on Christmas day, which is cheesy, but it makes our family portrait more lovable and memorable.
It was a night filled with fun and laughter. People were yelling, screaming and laughing hard. It was a night when one is excited to open gifts after all the presentations were seen. It was a night when everyone was excited to go to the dining table during Noche Buena. It was a night when my family was complete and we were all having fun.
I'm not saying that we are not happy for the past two years that my family is not complete during Christmas (and even New Year). We are happy. We look forward to celebrating Christmas. But not as happy as we were before. I can see it in my mother's eyes whenever she learns that my brothers can't make it to Christmas Eve with us. Papa and I just fool around and say that "This is reality. They have their own families now. And someday, I will have my own as well." :p
We have to move on. As cheesy as this sounds, what matters most is our love for each other. We may not celebrate Christmas together all the time, but we know that we have each other 525,600 minutes every year.
