The Guinayangan Republic

Before the first foggy day of December, we always had a busy day looking for fine mangroves branchlet sprouting from its crowning canopy, to prune it down and remove its leaves as well. DENR probably may hate me for writing this, but I will assure them we never harmed any juvenile fish lurking around its roots because we never touch its bole, hence still could grow. Where young fish dwells here before going to deep open water. Yes a Christmas tree from mangrove gnarly branches.

I would probably again commented with this for my age as mockery. Because this tradition is never practiced anymore by my kababaryo. I’m sorry for I’m too distant to notice the dying of a quaint traditions. But who cares about my age. Im a fine wine, ages with too much memory, with a suave taste for those who can relate.

It’s funny that Manlayo has a traditional boundary never culturally transferred to its nearby Barangay of Guinayangan Quezon, The way we spend Christmas is utterly unique and diversity of our small culture afar from the neighboring barrio. It was probably attributed to our being swampy and watery ground inhabitants.

I may deal with other unique traits that we have, so you can relate, but I will gladly have this mangrove Christmas tree as a context of my recollections. From first grader to six I would always have the initiative of garnering different mangrove branches to selectively pick the best closed to symmetry for our school Christmas tree décor. Often times we couldn’t achieve a perfect symmetry to resemble a pine tree, so we do grafting and budding of branches to attain the closeness to it.

After acquiring a nod from my teacher for its bare appearance, we started articulately wrapping it with any materials based on our conceptual design. The most used design was to wrap it with aluminum foils, others with ruffles of tassel using Japanese paper(papel de japon) theme with their own color. The most used was white to make it look like a snowy pine tree. Aluminum foils are the cheapest to gather and extract if from empty cigarette pack. Starting every November we were collecting cigarette foils to accommodate enough wrapping materials to cover the mangrove Christmas tree. The gnarly the tree, the more branchlet it has the more wrapping needed. After adequately satisfies our wrapping material needs, it’s time for us to make a homemade paste or glue to fasten each foil as ruffles of leaves. For about 2 weeks every extra hour of vacant class, girls were all wrapping it up while we were assisting them curling the edge of the foil by running a pen to its edge while holding the sheets firmly to achieved wavy end, then cutting them with thin strips just like a comb.

Finally when wrapping was over, garlands follows then nosegays of poinsettia and final touch of scattering all dangling ornaments to accent the Christmas tree. Out of excess foils we used to create a star that will be put at the peak of the tree that symbolizes the star that shone the sacred manger. The Christmas lights beat all the accents that there were. It gently flashed and reflected to foil surfaces scattering all the lights radiated to our classroom.

Then gifts of different wrapping and sizes filled up its based. The funny thing I remember when I was a kid was receiving a gift other than sour ball(I forgot the brand) and chocolate pretzels was a winner! You can’t blame us for we are very poor and we value food as memorable gifts. Satisfying our oozing moment when we see apples and chocolates every Christmas.

When you were a kid, no matter how big and small, expensive or not, you won’t forget your first received gift. Mine was a pen(Bic brand) from my childhood crush yet I have never been expressed that feelings. When everything was first, it is memorable.

When I was six it’s my first time to roam around during Christmas , house to house to ask for a penny or any gifts that they may gave. Well I rather prepared penny than gifts. I remember my neighbor Mang Mente Dimaala laying down all peso coins edge to edge on their mahjong table as a dispenser of gifts to kids asking for Christmas presents. The rules were simple, using your only one either hands grabbing the coins from the get-go. You will be amazed that grabbing those pennies were not an easy task, for the coin edges are reacting forces on each other and you would end up just a peso or two on your palm. Hmm pretty clever Mang Mente. For every kid I have been noticing it, and my mind couldn’t help but to devise a plan. While I was looking to my sticky palm from eating Pretzels I had a brilliant Idea to take advantage of it. I carefully and thoroughly licked my palm to make a natural adhesives and Voila! I get the most coin probably 10 to 20 pesos from the get-go. And so my fellow kids followed they were all like cats licking their paws. Mang Mente noticed the tricks and we were silenced by his clever counter act. He put a detergent soap and a dipper(tabo) before grabbing a coin. Nevertheless I had my biggest share.

Christmas is a Christian tradition no matter how poor you are, you will be blessed by the joy it brings. Every year if you are a kid it would be your happiest day . You would regret passing the day with a frown in your face. From candies, toys and gadgets gift giving tradition. You can’t help but wonder how those small things before made you happy. The irony of both successful grown man and not so accomplished people that you couldn’t even put a smile in their face during Christmas. For me that candy or coins then perhaps become now my Digital CANON EOS SLR camera gift for my self that it puts a smile on my face the whole season round.

Too bad,sudden glimpses of my childhood can no longer be photographs with that fine and sophisticated camera nor happy days of my childhood be remember with the recollection of that old traditions. Because all those things died long before and it has stopped unnoticed.

Today,how easy is it to buy a finished plastic Christmas tree in Divisoria or nearby city to ease your burden in preparing a DYI Christmas tree. Cheaper but not painstaking tree. For 30 minutes you can erect a Christmas tree without any help, another couple of hours accenting it with garlands and dangles.

Yes its true, our mangrove Christmas tree dried up but its spirit lives on to once my fellow kids, they will give me a smile and a laugh mentioning this write ups again. To this age, I contemplated things in life are pretty much the same when we were kids. It’s things on all of us that go differently, values and expensiveness of things we like. Christmas Spirit is there but you are no longer part of it. Its ourselves that keep us apart from the rest. Set aside your enviousness, materialism, and pity of being without those. After all it’s Christmas no matter how you hate it, its tradition will lives on.

:by Cornelio Cenizal
-repost from Ang Tanglaw Ng Manlayo