The season...tis approaching

For me, Christmas brings a feeling like the one you get when you know you're going to a big party. As soon as November rolled around, I busted out my old Bing Crosby Christmas tape and played it in my little radio until I wore down the ribbon to the point of breaking. I got into the habit of making holiday decorations instead of buying them, so there was lots of colored paper and bits of scissor scraps all over the place because I'd be cutting out intricate patterns or just doing crazy origami pieces for the tree. And the tree itself was unique too...since spruce pines are hard to come by in the Philippines, we used the coconut palm instead. Then there was the yearly project with my father: the making of the Christmas Star Lantern or "Parol." I always looked forward to this because it always amazed me how creative my dad can get with the lantern. One year, he took the flowers of sugarcane reeds and used them as the main coverage for the lantern. It looked like a large, gorgeous velvet star. Oh, then there was the traditional "simbang gabi" or "night mass" which was actually celebrated at 4 in the morning. Again, I wasn't much of a catholic as a kid and waking up in the buttcrack of dawn for church was not my idea of a good time, but the smell of incense during mass was always a good memory. That and the home-made rice cakes (bibingka) people sold outside the church made the waking up more tolerable and half the time, even fun. Then there was christmas eve/day when mom would come back from the US to celebrate the holiday at home. My dad prepares a big homecoming party for her. And after the midnight supper, she becomes our Santa Claus. She brought presents from abroad and we would stay up all night opening the packages and trying out our new toys/clothes/etc. What really sticks out in my mind right now is the smell of the bags of irish spring soap, chocolate, and apples as the balikbayan boxes were opened. That whiff of freshness mixed in with fruit and the sugarry scent of Baby Ruths and Twixes and Butterfingers...all wonderful smells hitting you at once...there ain't nothin' better =).

Anyway, that's my Christmas memory. What's yours?