That the world was coming to an end in December 2012 showed
how humans are restlessly boring animals always looking for excitement even if
it would mean the end of the world. What now that the world did not end…?
If there are 7 billion people on planet earth; the New Year
should mean differently to 7 billion souls but who cares about 2013 except most
of the Christian west that uses the Gregorian calendar? Not half; not even
third of the people of earth really cares about 2013. Muslims (1.5 billion),
Chinese (1.5 billion) and India (1.3 billion) are the large groups which alone
comprises more than half of the entire planet that don’t use the Gregorian
calendar so in essence; January 1, 2013 is just another day for most of the
people of planet earth.
Filipinos are a people of exaggeration who imitate
everything with mind-boggling over zealousness. That overacting character is exemplified
by the adoption and extreme practice of Christianity that surprises even the
original Christians that introduce it to the Philippines.
Often times I wonder how Ronald Tubid; the basketball player
whose picture/statue at age 17 was adopted by the church to represent saint
Pedro Calungsod feels whenever he sees people worshiping his picture/statue. How
will his children/grandchildren and future generation feels knowing that the
saint Pedro Calungsod that multitudes worship was in fact their
father/grandfather? In this age and time; a computer generated face will take
minutes if not seconds. I find it strange that the church did not ask for a computer
generated face based on Pedro Calungsod’s living relatives.
The use of firecrackers is very Chinese in character that
Filipinos adopted with gusto. It causes a lot of injuries with some deaths; a
practice that you don’t find anywhere else on the planet yet; neither
Christianity nor the celebration of New Year is indigenous to Philippines. These
are alien to Philippine culture that we practice with absurd zealotry.
That there is more fun in the Philippine is no empty slogan.
Whatever others can do; Filipinos can do even more…for better or worse :-(
NLK
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