Holidays… Everything that comes before, in between and after.
Media has tremendously affected every aspect of living today; like for instance, celebrating the holidays and everything that comes before, in between and after. Let me share with you a story.
Kym, (Pronounced as “kim”, that is just the proper way to spell her name) grew up in a close-knitted Christian family. Though they are not perfect, for conflicts would always arise from time to time, they are a good bunch of people. Well, for Kym that is.
If you’d ask her how her holidays went like, how much it has changed over the years and how much she was anticipating it before the holiday break from school, she would give you a healthy bunch of answers.
When Kym was a little girl, she was called a “TV absorber” at home. She would memorize lines from commercials in an instant and would be reciting them as she was watching them. She would watch TV as if it was the only thing she could ever understand. And as a little girl, she learned from the television the existence of Santa Claus. She would ask her parents, and they’d tell her that Santa Claus does exist and she’d have to wait for Christmas so she can receive a gift from Santa.
And so every year, she waited for him. There would always be gifts waiting for her in the morning, hanging at the window where she left her father’s sock hanging. She would always use his socks because they are much bigger and she wanted to receive large, beautiful gifts; just like every other kid. Her gifts don’t always fit in the socks but nevertheless, she hangs them; just for the purpose of reminding Santa that she is waiting for her gift.
But she never saw him. When she turned 9, she decided to wait for his arrival. She waited for him all night, trying to catch the mysterious gift-giver. Personally, she just wanted to see how he looks like in person, because his looks on TV showed a fat old guy with white beard and mustache all over his face. Curiosity was one of the many characteristics she has ever since. So she waited for him. On the midnight of the 24th of that year, she went outside their house, looked up at the sky and waited for his sleigh to pass over. Minutes passed; there wasn’t even a single shadow. She was disappointed. But she thought that maybe he was just late for he could still be giving away gifts to other children. It was past 12 already and she was yawning like crazy so she decided to go to sleep. The next year, she learned what Santa really looks like. He is a tall guy with eyes like her and a smile that is so assuring and perfect for Kym that in the end, it didn’t made her feel bad knowing that her father was Santa. But of course, she was a bit disappointed that Santa on TV was fake and that he really wasn’t existing at all.
Kym understood later in life that every kid on the planet should and can enjoy the presence of knowing that Santa is there because he is a symbol of something like “hope” to little kids. Kids hope for a good gift every Christmas, and the thought of Santa existing is something to look forward to every year.
As years passed on, she realized how things has changed over the way people celebrate the holidays.
Her Inay (grandmother) would always tell her that when she was young, during those years of their life in the province, they would always have “kakanin” served on the table every Christmas and New Year’s Eve. There were different forms of ‘kakanin’ and it was present in every table of every house, rich or poor alike. Inay would say she misses those kinds of foods.
For Kym, it was normal for her Inay to feel such way. She was growing old and she misses the old days. But what really Kym realized was how much the TV has affected their way of celebrating the holidays.
The television, every Christmas and holiday season these days of the millennium, never really show so much ‘kakanin’ foods on the table. There was the hamon, the gelatin, the salad and sometimes the lechon. But rarely the kakanin. There is ‘tikoy’ already but rarely the Pinoy type of kakanin on TV. Kym wondered why.
She wondered but at the same time, she guessed the answers to her own questions.
It was like the television made a living standard. It has created an ideal kind of life; a measure of how the good life looks life.
Kym though that people, consumed in the contents of media, never realized the changes it has been inflicting on their lives. Media produces content, people consume, and sometimes, they would not react at once, but then again, there will be changes. No matter what we do, these changes are inevitable. In these changes, the media plays a huge role.
She passed by stores and stalls at the mall. Whenever the holidays are coming, there would always be new sets of techie gadgets lining up every store; each claiming they’re all ideal for gifts. When Kym was younger, she used to receive gifts like shirts, blouses, personal things (hmm?), toys when she was a bit younger, and stuffs she’d be using in school like notebooks and pens. They really haven’t changed much these days. But if you’d ask her, just like any girl or guy her age, she would say it would be a great pleasure to receive a techie gadget as a gift.
This age where advances in technology are at its peak, everyone wants to grab any advanced technology-related material. Especially those gadgets that provide you with anything associated to the internet. Everyone wanted to be a part of the growing social community on the web. And Kym is just one of those ‘everyone’.
These days, people want more and more of communication. Just a click away, people sitting miles away from each other can easily talk or chat. We are basically provided with that opportunity, so why not grab it right?
People can now celebrate holidays miles apart and still feel like the same when together. Greetings for the holidays can also be sent to a hundred or to a thousand different people in just a single click.
Kym recognized the fact that the social media in the internet is now a right and everyone should have an access to it. It makes life easier and all. But she also realized that it’s not always enough. Sometimes it’s the warmth you’re looking for that is lacking in technological gadgets. They can send information and stuff, but they can never make up for all the missed hugs and kisses.
New Year is one of Kym’s most favorite holidays. There is this daunting felling mixed with exhilaration. A year has passed on and the thought of facing a new year filled with new things that would come her way makes her feel agitated. And New Year meant having lots and lots of food on the table. But there is one thing she doesn’t like about it. It’s all those firecrackers that shake the nerve out of her. It’s too much noise. Plus the smell of gun powder that she can barely take.
And of course, all the accidents that lurk whenever the New Year is coming. Firecracker injuries, strayed bullets and possible fires scared Kym. Though she never goes out of the house whenever the firecracker things are going on, she can’t take off her mind from any ‘possible’ harm.
So for the matter, she thanks the media. Whenever the New Year’s coming, media apprise the people with enough information of how dangerous firecrackers are to everyone’s lives; even to those who don’t use one. The TV for instance, is a very powerful medium that can send out information to people in a matter of seconds that can help in the dissemination of information about firecrackers damaging effects.
Just the recent celebration of New Year, Kym’s dad finally decided not to buy firecrackers. She felt happy and realized that somehow, the media contributed to his decision.
But then again, she also realized how hardheaded Filipinos were when there were a high number of firecracker-related injuries. She knew there was no one to blame. It has become a part of the culture.
But Kym knew there is still room for changing what has been done for years. Though it has been a part of the Filipino culture every year, we can always change for the better. Davao is a city that bans firecracker. Still they get to celebrate the New Year happily.
Firecrackers gone don’t mean celebrating the New Year lame. Kym knew it will be good start for something new for every Filipino. Will it be wrong to start something that we can all benefit from?
Every day, we are bombarded with information. This information tends to cause change in people. Change isn’t a bad thing. It’s just that, sometimes, changes are for the better or for the worst that is yet to come. I think it’s just a matter of figuring it out ourselves.
And oh, by the way… At home? They call me Kym. J
(Source: iamzee)
