Trees of joy


Published:  December 17, 2010 | Author:  Cherie M. Querol Moreno

Manilans reinvent Old Tannenbaums

MANILA – Amazing that a country strewn on the Pacific Ocean, where bamboo and coconut blanket the hillsides and ricefields carpet the plains, alpine trees rise and glitter everywhere in the Philippines this time of the year.

Not December, not November. But from early October or even late September and way beyond January the following year.

Spain's greatest legacy in her only former colony in Asia remains palpable to this day. Where Christianity is the dominant religion, Christmas is the third season on the archipelago where months are "wet," "dry" and "yuletide."

To the United States , Filipinos can attribute their requisite holiday décor.

Even those who hew to a different faith erect a Christmas tree to replace the nativity scene for a centerpiece.

Never mind that evergreen trees are a rarity even in Baguio City, where the scent of pine used to seduce lowlanders to the mountain refuge. Filipinos long embraced Old Tannenbaum, making the symbol of yuletide their own.

Whole leafless tropical trees spray-painted white, gold or silver to mimic snow once lined the streets before the expressways were built. In the 1970s a family grew fir on their farm in Antipolo and happily hacked some for friends during the holidays. A multinational produce company on the crests of Mindanao sold evergreen that towered over its plantations, which landed in luxe hotels in Makati and Manila.

The fragrance of the evergreen is just a memory to many, to the benefit of the environment. Plastic trees live for decades and generations, along with the assorted mobiles and trimmings that evoke holidays gone by and the loved ones who shared the special time.

Few have less questions about the place in the tropics of the evergreen tree all dolled up with blinking lights to depict a winter wonderland than of the gifts that will go beneath it and the smiles these will bring. What matters most is the spirit behind the act, the outpouring of kindness and joy.

Philippine News editor at large Cherie M. Querol Moreno is in Manila on assignment.