Caja de hierro and Servilleta:
Those two words always resonate with me whenever I remember Papa and Mama.
The vault was stolen a long time ago. However, whenever my Papa would say the word, it had a depth and a clarity. One word- security.
The table napkin had Carpio Family embroidered with it. It was a yellow cloth and it came more than a dozen. My Mama would carefully fold them and, then, neatly stack them inside the cupboard.
It is Christmas.
My Holiday memories are neatly stacked like the table napkins inside the vault.
To be simply put, my Christmas memories with my parents are treasured inside my heart.
My parents' love lives on in me, especially, during the Christmas Season.
I remember the two of them making the Season memorable. My Papa would write a poem for the Christmas card. He would put up the tree and the farol. My Mama would decorate the whole house with trimmings and ornaments. The Advent wreath and the Nativity scene were more relevant with their religious significance.
I would sit under the tree as a young boy and look for my gifts. I would shake them a bit to find out what's inside.
One time the tree had candy canes. I could not wait to eat one when it was the right time.
Santa Claus was and is real to me.
There was one time I slept on the couch as a young boy waiting for him. When I woke up it was morning.
I was able to complete the nine-day-novena-masses of Simbang Gabi. They were celebrated at early dawn.
Christmas in the Philippines is more of substance rather than superficial.
It has Spirit.
Now, in my forties, it is the people that tug at my heartstrings. I remember my late brother who loved the Christmas tree. All year round he had one. I remember my other brother who would give crisp paper bills as presents for the nephews and nieces.
My Papa's favorite was the Queso de Bola. Cheese shaped like a ball covered with red wax. Mama made sure we all went to mass together as a family.
Traditions.
We try to recreate how we celebrated the Season as we have been doing since Papa and Mama's first Christmas together.
Through the years, a baby would be born, then another, then, a bonus penultimately, and providentially it ended with a Christmas bonus. It became a big happy family.
Then, the children eventually married as adults and two became priests.
The family ballooned with nephews and nieces. And, a grandchild.
There is no room for negativity in Papa's vault and Mama made sure that only positivity were/are put inside.
I guess I am lucky, I'd rather say blessed because each Christmas they are always with me and any given day.
Just a sigh and a smile away.
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