You plan to move to the Philippines? Wollen Sie auf den Philippinen leben?

There are REALLY TONS of websites telling us how, why, maybe why not and when you'll be able to move to the Philippines. I only love to tell and explain some things "between the lines". Enjoy reading, be informed, have fun and be entertained too!

Ja, es gibt tonnenweise Webseiten, die Ihnen sagen wie, warum, vielleicht warum nicht und wann Sie am besten auf die Philippinen auswandern könnten. Ich möchte Ihnen in Zukunft "zwischen den Zeilen" einige zusätzlichen Dinge berichten und erzählen. Viel Spass beim Lesen und Gute Unterhaltung!


Visitors of germanexpatinthephilippines/Besucher dieser Webseite.Ich liebe meine Flaggensammlung!

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Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts

Sunday, December 25, 2022

Let love prevail this Christmas — Marcos

Published December 25, 2022, 5:00 AM

by Argyll Cyrus Geducos

“I wish everyone a Christmas full of love, compassion, and hopeful beginnings.”

As Christians worldwide celebrate Christmas, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. hoped that Filipinos would let love, compassion, and hope prevail during this festive celebration despite the obstacles they faced over the past few years. 

Malacañang photo

In his Christmas message, the President said that the celebration of Christmas may have evolved over the years, but love remains the essence of the said holiday.

“The story of Christ’s birth has become an integral part of our culture, and every year, we have become more accustomed to commemorating this day with gatherings, thanksgiving, and merrymaking,” he said.

“No matter the evolution of its observance, it is imperative that we emphasize the true essence of this holiday—love,” he added.

According to Marcos, love is the one that makes Christmas more than just a tradition, not only for Christians but for other beliefs as well.

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“It is this pure and simple love that Christmas represents—the same one that we constantly desire and need—that allows it to be more than just a Christian tradition,” he said.

“Across beliefs, all the generosity and goodwill stirred in this season are welcomed. Surely, embracing these will help us overcome the difficulties brought [on] by the pandemic and other challenges,” he added.

President Marcos hoped that all Filipinos could celebrate Christmas, even in their own little ways.

“Let our spirits not dwell on the adornments that we display, on the buzz and activities we create, nor the lack thereof. Instead, let us partake in this holiday with the same simplicity, sense, and meaning that we got from it,” he said.

“Let us freely offer our smiles, share a conversation, or impart wisdom to our peers, our loved ones, and even strangers. Let our affection be known and felt in the simplest of ways so that the eternal message of the Nativity of Christ may again spark hope for a brighter future in the hearts of all,” he added.

 

Saturday, December 3, 2022

Christmas is about love, forgiveness — VP Sara

by Joseph Pedrajas


It is not important if the Christmas celebration is big or fancy because the season is, in fact, about spending time with your loved ones and giving forgiveness, Vice President Sara Duterte said.

At the ceremonial lighting of a 42-foot Christmas tree in Laguna on Thursday night, Duterte also said what is important in celebrating Christmas is that “we, our loved ones and our family are happy and we forgive those who have wronged us.” 

Photo courtesy of VP Sara Duterte

“Yan talaga yung tema ng pasko— pagmamahal, pagpapatawad, pagbibigay, (That’s the theme of Christmas—love, forgiveness, giving) kindness,” she said.

“‘Yan din yung message natin sa ating mga kababayan dahil ang pananawagan natin ay unity kaya meron ding kalakip yon ng pagpapatawad hindi lang sa pulitika but even sa personal lives natin (That’s also my message to my fellow: the call for unity because it also entails forgiveness not only in the area of politics but also in our personal lives)— working together with our neighbors, with our officemates, with our family,” she added in an eventual interview with reporters.

The Vice President then thanked Laguna residents for supporting her and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. during the elections as well as for supporting her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte.

As chief of the Department of Education, she also called on the parents to instill the value of education to their children.

Tuesday, November 15, 2022

Flying home for the holidays will cost you more this year

By Associated Press/Manila Times


PEOPLE still looking to book trips home to visit family or take a vacation during the holidays need to act fast and prepare for sticker shock.


Airline executives say that based on bookings, they expect huge demand for flights over Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's. Travel experts say the best deals for airfares and hotels are already gone.

  

On social media, plenty of travelers think they are being gouged. It's an understandable sentiment when government data shows that airfares in October were up 43 percent from a year earlier, and US airlines reported a combined profit of more than $2.4 billion in the third quarter.


Part of the reason for high fares is that airlines are still operating fewer flights than in 2019 even though passenger numbers are nearly back to pre-pandemic levels.


"Fewer flights and more people looking to head home or take vacation for the holidays means two things: Prices will be higher, and we will see flights sell out for both holidays," says Holly Berg, chief economist for travel-data provider Hopper.


Yulia Parr knows exactly what Berg is talking about. The Annandale, Virginia, woman struggled to find a reasonably priced flight home for her young son, who is spending Thanksgiving with his grandmother in Texas while Parr visits her husband, who is on active military duty in California. She finally found a $250 one-way ticket on Southwest, but it's not until the Tuesday after the holiday.


Parr figures she waited too long to book a flight.


"My husband's kids are flying home for Christmas," she said. "Those tickets were bought long ago, so they're not too bad."


Prices for air travel and lodging usually rise heading into the holidays, and it happened earlier this year. That is leading some travelers in Europe to book shorter trips, according to Axel Hefer, CEO of Germany-based hotel-search company Trivago.


"Hotel prices are up absolutely everywhere," he said. "If you have the same budget or even a lower budget through inflation, and you still want to travel, you just cut out a day."


Hotels are struggling with labor shortages, another cause of higher prices. Glenn Fogel, CEO of Booking Holdings, which owns travel-search sites including Priceline and Kayak, says one hotelier told him he can't fill all his rooms because he doesn't have enough staff.


Rates for car rentals aren't as crazy as they were during much of 2021, when some popular locations ran out of vehicles. Still, the availability of vehicles is tight because the cost of new cars has prevented rental companies from fully rebuilding fleets that they culled early in the pandemic.


US consumers are facing the highest inflation in 40 years, and there is growing concern about a potential recession. That isn't showing up in travel numbers, however.


The number of travelers going through airport checkpoints has recovered to nearly 95 percent of 2019 traffic, according to Transportation Security Administration figures for October. Travel industry officials say holiday travel might top pre-pandemic levels.


Airlines haven't always done a good job handling the big crowds, even though they have been hiring workers to replace those who left after Covid-19 hit. The rates of canceled and delayed flights rose above pre-pandemic levels this summer, causing airlines to slow down plans to add more flights.


US airlines operated only 84 percent as many US flights as they did in October 2019, and plan about the same percentage in December, according to travel-data firm Cirium. On average, airlines are using bigger planes with more seats this year, which partly offsets the reduction in flights.


"We are definitely seeing a lot of strength for the holidays," Andrew Nocella, United Airlines' chief commercial officer, said on the company's earnings call in October. "We're approaching the Thanksgiving timeframe, and our bookings are incredibly strong."


Airline executives and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg blamed each other for widespread flight problems over the summer. Airline CEOs say that after hiring more pilots and other workers, they are prepared for the holiday mob.


Travel experts offer tips for saving money and avoiding getting stranded by a canceled flight, although the advice hasn't changed much from previous years.


Be flexible about dates and even destinations, although that's not possible when visiting grandma's house. In a recent search, the cheapest flights from Los Angeles to New York around Christmas were on Christmas Eve and returning New Year's Eve.


Look into discount airlines and alternate airports, but know that smaller airlines have fewer options for rebooking passengers after a flight is canceled.


Fly early in the day to lower your risk of a delay or cancellation. "If something goes wrong, it tends to progress throughout the day — it gets to be a domino effect," says Chuck Thackston, general manager of Airlines Reporting Corp., an intermediary between airlines and travel agents.


There are plenty of theories on the best day of the week to book travel. Thackston says it's Sunday because airlines know that's when many price-conscious consumers are shopping, and carriers tailor offerings for them.


For the most part, airlines have dodged the accusations of price-gouging that have swirled around oil companies — which drew another rebuke this week from President Joe Biden — and other industries.


Accountable US, an advocacy group critical of corporations, linked airline delays and cancellations this summer to job cuts during the pandemic and poor treatment of workers. "But generally, we would say the airline industry is not currently at the same level as big food, oil or retail in terms of gross profiteering," says Jeremy Funk, a spokesman for the group.


Brett Snyder, who runs a travel agency and writes the "Cranky Flier" blog about air travel, says prices are high simply because flights are down from 2019 while demand is booming.


"How is it gouging?" Snyder asks. "They don't want to go (take off) with empty seats, but they also don't want to sell everything for a dollar. It's basic economics."


Travelers are sacrificing to hold down the cost of their trips.


Sheena Hale and her daughter, Krysta Pyle, woke up at 3 a.m. and left their northwestern Indiana home an hour later to make a 6:25 a.m. flight in Chicago last week.


"We are exhausted," Hale said after the plane landed in Dallas, where Krysta was taking part in a cheer competition. "We started early because the early flights were much cheaper. Flights are way too expensive."


They're not going anywhere for Christmas.


"We don't have to travel. We're staying home with family," Hale said.

Sunday, December 19, 2021

Nothing can ever cancel Christmas in this country


by AA Patawaran, Manila Bulletin

Whatever happened to Father Christmas in England in 1647 would never happen in the Philippines, no matter how dire the circumstances get—poverty, disaster, a bank run, a civil war, or a revolution.

In 1647, right after the English Civil War and the Church of England gave way to a Presbytarian system, the English parliament passed an ordinance declaring festivities over Christmas, Easter, and Whitsun a taboo, outlawing decorations, celebrations both public and private, and even shops closing up in observance of holy days.

As a result, though all of the kingdoms of England, which at the time included Wales and Ireland, were up in arms, Father Christmas who, as the Paris Review described him, was once “rotund from indulgence,” embodying “Christmas as an open-hearted festival of feasts and frolics,” grew “skinny, mournful, and lonely, depressed by the grim fate that had befallen the most magical time of year.”

…hens and chickens were saying noisy farewells amid the rapid clatter of knives and chopping blocks and the sputtering of lard in frying pans. There was a promise of good eating in the succulent smells of stews and sweetmeats that reached out to the streets. —El Filibusterismo, Jose Rizal

Or he might have migrated to the Philippine islands, whose Christianization by their Spanish colonizers in the 1700s was well under way. Noche Buena (Nochebuena back in the day, one word, as it still is, referring to the Christmas Eve dinner, in Spain) is Spanish for “a night of goodness,” but Noche Buena traces its roots to the early mornings, shortly after midnight, when the Filipinos broke their Christmas Eve fast.


Back then, as ordered by the Spanish friars, it was customary—if not mandatory—to go on a fast the whole day on Christmas Eve. In this writer’s humble opinion, it was in honor of the struggles of the Holy Family to look for a suitable place for the Christ Child to be born in. Alas, there was no room at the inn, so Jesus was born in a manger filled with hay, a long, open trough for horses or cattle to eat from in the cold, smelly stables.

Before they could break their fast, the Filipinos under over 300 years of Spanish occupation, would end the day at the Misa de Gallo, and you can imagine how famished they must have been that even the sacramental bread must have tasted to them like manna from heaven or like cake from Marie Antoinette. But then the mass would be over, and the fast was ended, and it was time to eat at last.


Hence, the Noche Buena. And maybe this is why, just outside the church, anywhere across the Philippines, where a Catholic stone church stood, which then—as now—meant every town, the churchgoers, emerging from the midnight mass, or even the early morning masses of Simbang Gabi, and keen on satiating their day-long hunger and their enormous appetites, would expect stalls and kiosks peddling bibingka, puto bumbong, puto with tsokolate, kutsinta, biko, palitaw, and suman.

These rice cakes, although they carry traces of our foreign interactions on the trade routes of our pre-colonial past, whether in terms of techniques or transplanted ingredients, are our very own contribution to the celebration of Christmas steeped in tradition and cultural significance. All the carbs waiting on the churchyards after the night masses of Yuletide in the Philippines would have been enough to keep Father Christmas happy-plump and rosy-cheeked despite the Puritan revolution of the 17th century, not to mention less depressed because, you know, carbs boost the brain’s release of serotonin, the chemical that keeps us calm and satisfied.

But there is more to the Philippine Christmas feast than the stuffed turkey, Brussels sprouts with chestnuts and sage, and roast potatoes Father Christmas was familiar with in the United Kingdom, of which we might have had a taste in the 20 months the British occupied the Philippines from 1762 to 1764.

Ours is a hodgepodge of influences drawn from over three centuries of Spanish rule, the hold the Americans have had—still do?—over us since 1898, when Spain sold us to them for only $120 million, and, long before we were named the Philippines after Spain’s King Philip II, centuries worth of trade and cultural exchanges with the Arabs, the Chinese, the Indians, the Javanese, the Japanese, and more. 

Mementos of our major colonial experiences with the Spanish and the Americans still find their way to our Christmas celebrations. From Spain, the Filipinos have incorporated the likes of jamon de bola, stuffings like relleno, embutido, galantina, and morcon, lechon or cochinillo, lengua, callos, chorizo, paella, and the ubiquitous queso de bola or Dutch Edam cheese, a staple on vessels sailing on world expeditions across uncharted waters, such as the Magellan flotilla and the Spanish galleon. The Americans, in turn, threw in pies, Spam, Vienna sausage, and fruitcake.  The Noche Buena table on every Filipino home is a journey across the world, packed with history and the forging and cutting of ties between nations.

But there are also regional variations within the Philippines. Bibingka, for instance, has many variants, such as bibingkang Mandaue that, unique to Mandaue, Cebu, was traditionally made with tuba to give it a kick. In Cavite, it is called bibingkoy, which comes with a filling of sweetened mongo and served with langka, sago, and coconut cream. In Davao, there is durian bibingka and, in Eastern Samar, what they call salukara is bibingka in the shape of a pancake.

There are many kinds of suman too, such as black rice suman from Baler, Aurora, suman sa lihiya in Laguna, suman moron in Leyte, and suman budbud in Dumaguete. In Pangasinan, it’s called tupig and in Bulacan pinipig and, in Cebu, it is best eaten with ripe mangoes.

The Philippines is an archipelago of 7,641 islands and many regions boasting of their own unique cultures, geophysical traits, and resources. Coupled with the influx of colonial influences as well as the yields of the Filipino diaspora scattered all over the planet, all that find expression not only in Fiipinos’ day-to-day living, but especially in occasions important to us, like Christmas.

Father Christmas should have learned an important lesson in 1647. Although it had been a dismal failure, they did cancel Christmas in the UK and they can attempt to do so again, as they have in other places in the world.

In the Philippines, however, nothing can stop Christmas, not a pandemic like this one that we have been grappling with for two years, not even all the health bulletins warning against obesity and excessive eating.

Nothing at all can ever cancel Christmas in the Philippines.


Monday, December 6, 2021

Christmas and vacation




During the Christmas holidays, we tend to get so caught up in the hustle and bustle of the season that we sometimes forget the essence of Christmas. We even remove Christ from the word Christmas, reducing it to X’mas or substituting it with the name of a product or a shopping center.” Yes, guys, honestly, that’s it… I really don’t enjoy receiving “XMAS GREETINGS”…

Somehow, I am looking forward to a two weeks vacation “between the years” – meaning to say between December 23 and January 7. No teaching. I might spend only a few hours in my agency office.

A rest from some occupation, business and other stressful activities is waiting for me. Strictly speaking, vacation concerns those who are in school or studying in colleges and universities. “Furlough” would be the appropriate term…

Christmas and vacation: Speaking about myself – I want to bring back Christ to the holiday season and indeed wish to share my blessings with the less fortunate. One of the best-known religious poems is “The Hound of Heaven” written by Francis Thompson, who tried to run away from God. He wanted to have a vacation from God. In reality, it is Thompson’s own life. His poem shows clearly the fact in this world that we can have a vacation from physical and mental activities, but never from God.

As I stated before: according to the book of Genesis, after God created the universe in six days, he rested on the seventh day. In other words, he took a vacation. So if God rested after working for some period of time, there is no reason why man, who is finite and limited in his physical strength, should not take a vacation.

Vacation is freedom or release from tension or pressure of work. And, believe me, I learned already from my students that they will enjoy Christmas and vacation. Many of us feel tired and weak. We are stressed, overwhelmed, depressed and worried about the future – the enumeration, in any order whatever, could be incessant.

Relaxation, meditation, and reinvigoration are badly needed for most of us nowadays. Life, affected by the “burnout syndrome” needs to be animated with energy and strengths.

Yes, Christmas has always been equated with all these worldly ways. Sure, there is indeed nothing wrong with this. Let’s don’t only focus on non-stop merrymaking and countless gifts. Let’s take a break, and let’s try to imagine and enjoy the real meaning of Christmas. Merry Christmas again to everyone – also from this corner…

Friday, December 3, 2021

MUSIC, CHRISTMAS AND GOD


Are all terms in the right order? In logical sequence? For some of you, my dear readers, they must have passed out by a dozen. 


Honestly, writing about political topics is really tiring me. Especially now and today. While writing this piece, I am getting tons of political news.Yes, I am very well understanding everything. But why do I choose "Music, Christmas and God"? Again, the right (or wrong?) order doesn't matter. Really!


Christmas is just around the corner. Almost.  I become very thoughtful and melancholy during the season. That's okay. Maybe also you. I try to delete topics such as war, corruption, killing, pandemic,natural disasters et cetera et cetera pp. I even try to delete them here in my opinion. I try to look forward to Christmas with a happy heart.


Christmas is just around the corner. God is with me daily. He is my companion during every second of my life. And, what has this to do with music?


Music has been my second life companion for many years. I remember the day my parents first lugged the heavy accordion up our front stoop, taxing the small frame. They gathered me in the living room and opened the case  as if it were a treasure chest. And guys, it really was. And, it was several days BEFORE Christmas. 


"Here it is," my parents said. "Once you learn to play it, it will be with you for life!" Thank God, it is. Believe it - up to now. Here in my house in Davao City. My very first instrument... .


Anyway, back to the past: if my thin smile didn't match my parents' full-fledged grin, it was because I prayed for a piano! It was at the end of the 1950s, and I was glued to my AM- and ShortWave Radio Stations, playing classical music 24/7. Accordions were nowhere in my hit parade - even later during the 1960s and 1970s... .


Sometime on a Sunday, one of my favourite days till now, I started taping radio shows with classical music. It seemed that I was hanging on every note. I joined the college band. But I admired classical composers such as Beethoven and Mozart, just to mention two. I never became perfect in my piano play to coax sweet sounds. I also admire people who can do so. But I developed a passion for music.


Music, God - and, yes: Merry Christmas to all of you - also from this corner, even there are still some more days.... .

Friday, November 19, 2021

WHAT COULD BE A CHRISTMAS GIFT?


Gift giving and receiving and Christmas simply but surely go together. Many times it incurs our indignation. Many of us defer the most important decision during the most jolliest season of the year. What is the best Christmas gift for our loved ones??? Is it really an important decision, or does it delete the real meaning of Christmas? I am sure, many of us know the real answer.

The giving spirit of the holiday season seems to fade in the light of necessary obligations and finances, along the painful dilemma of giving gifts to those who want to buy for as opposed to those for whom you should buy!


Let’s think about it: To whom are we obligated at Christmas: our boss, our cousins, our parents, our partner or our children and friends as well? What about the children? Should they give presents to people either then family members? How about the innumerable large families especially in the Philippines, because of economics, resort to the name drawing process at Christmas.


For me firstly Christmas is spirit. You can always find ways to give gifts without expenses. The most well known and always remembered gift is to give to someone like giving time. In my family we do this mostly during the holiday season.
But if I look more closely, mmh, sad to say, that “time as gift” doesn’t satisfy most of all. Well, it’s okay. There are so many ways to use your mind in terms of giving someone other things than putting Peso or Dollar notes. I am sure you know that home made gifts can also be a very good idea… .


Sure, there is etiquette of gift giving at Christmas and also other occasions. Homemade gifts are most appropriate especially as Christmas gifts, according to Stuart E. Jacobson, book author of “The Art of Giving”. Allow me to quote Jacobson, “Homemade gifts are wonderful. A gift of imagination, a gift of creativity, a gift that shows (also!) time was put into it. A created time is a wonderful present.”

When considering a homemade gift, instead of tumbling through crowded shopping malls (as I tried again yesterday!) and getting a headache (I really got!)! While stumbling from one mall to the next, I found out again, that the real and whole essence of giving a gift is to bring pleasure to the person receiving it.Jacobson says in his book, “Homemade gifts are also ideal for children to give as presents. Kids can create things because they have a unique imagination. Children should feel free to give something to anyone they spend a lot of time with. No monetary value should be placed on what a child should give to someone.”

Very well said. I am just afraid that it seems more or less impossible nowadays in these modern times… .

Friday, August 20, 2021

WITH BEETHOVEN UNDER PALMS (XXVIII): Christmas and Teaching


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Yes, Christmas was celebrated differently in the Philippines than in Germany. We had got used to it over the years. Our family adopted some of our German traditions too - as much as possible.

As in many other Christian countries, Christmas is the most special time of the year in Germany. Though the most important ingredients of Christmas across the world are the same – festive cheer, family time and delicious food – each country has its own special way of celebrating this magical festival. There are some  Christmas traditions and rituals that are quintessentially German.

St Nicholas Day is a favorite holiday with German children. On the night of December 5, children clean and polish their boots and leave them outside the door before going to sleep. Next morning, they find their shoes filled with nuts, candy, and small gifts from St Nicholas. He also makes an appearance in shopping malls and children’s clubs. Though Santa Claus has also become popular in Germany, St Nicholas is much more important than his American counterpart. 

The Advent calendar is an important countdown to Christmas for German children. Everyday for four weeks preceding Christmas, a window in the advent calendar is opened to reveal a poem, parts of a story, candy or a small gift. Advent calendars flood shops across Germany during this season, while many parents prefer to make their own.

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The tradition of Advent wreaths was started by German Lutherans in the 16th century, and today the wreath is still an icon of Christmas in Germany. The wreath consists of four candles in a bed of pine cones, berries, dried flowers and Christmas ornaments. Different families have different traditions when it comes to Adventskranz. Some will bring it out during the first week of December and burn one candle every Sunday in the lead up to Christmas. Others will display the advent wreath on the last Sunday before Christmas and have the entire family sit around it, munching on Christmas delicacies, singing Christmas songs and watching Christmas movies.

Granted, the magic of Christmas markets has spread to many other countries and continents, but the origins of Christmas markets can be traced back to the German-speaking part of Europe in the Middle Ages. A few thousand Christmas markets are held all over Germany each year. The next time your heart warms at the sight of twinkling lights adorning the adorable Christmas market in your part of the world, remember that you have the Germans to thank for it. Of course, Christmas Markets with mugs of steaming hot Glühwein, and the Feuerzangenbowle, which is an immensely potent German Christmas beverage that is as much a feast for the taste buds as for the eyes. Rum with a high alcohol level is added generously to mulled wine, and the concoction is set in flames. Memories that faded over time in the Philippines. Freezing temperatures and lots of snow on the way to the Christmas Mass - only possible in Germany.

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One day I got a call from the University of Southeastern Philippines, Institute of Languages and Cultural Arts. in Davao City. There had been a large number of inquiries regarding German Language Classes. "Well, I have never been a teacher before", I replied Dr. Patricia Elbanbuena, the then Director of the institute. "But you are a journalist, and I think your German is perfect to be a German language teacher", she tried to allay my fears.

I taught German at USEP for almost 12 years. 

(To be continued!)

Thursday, December 17, 2020

SPECIAL REFLECTIONS


 

Can you imagine that there are some benefits from keeping old newspaper clippings? I mean my old previously published columns. For me yes.

From life experiences, I see that progress and failure are both parts of my journey. My columns are mostly a view into a mirror. I am reminded of God's grace when I read (and wrote before) how He helped me to find solutions to problems. I also gained insight from past struggles that help with issues I am currently facing during this pandemic times. I remember one of my previous columns entitled "If failures get results".

God has indeed been faithfully working in my life.

I read a story by Dennis Fisher, who didn't keep publishing clippings but a spiritual journal. He advised: "Journaling may be useful to you too. It can help you see more clearly what God is teaching you on life's journey. To begin a journal, record your struggles, reflect on a verse that is especially comforting or challenging, or write a prayer of thankfulness for God's faithfulness."

Pandemic and Christmas. The most awaited season of the years has finally come. For many of us, December should still be a glow that blossoms across the eastern horizon bringing the promise of a new beginning. December and Christmas should be the song to awaken our hardened hearts, to touch those people around us, who might have waited a long time for such a move. Let's become "new people" at last.

Yes, I won't lose hope and belief in a better next year. The virus may be there but it can't erase Christmas.

Monday, December 9, 2019

Gift Giving



A day after the plebiscite for the renaming of Compostela Valley province to Davao de Oro, the Provincial Governor’s Office gives cheers and well wishes as they  visited the Gawad Kalinga Village in Nabunturan and the PDLs (Persons Deprived of Liberty) at the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) in Montevista on December 8, 2019.  (fem, ID Comval)

Saturday, December 22, 2018

Our conflicting life


We are in conflict with ourselves many times during life. Our future gives cause for concern; the past hold up captured, therefore we miss the future.

The grief and sorrow asked the hope, "How are you?" The hope answered, " I am a little bit low and sad today!" The sorrow  replied sarcastic, "I hope so!"

Nobody wants  to really know what might happen after reaching the retirement age. Sure, if we can observe our neighbors and all other people in our surroundings, we really don't like to know it. If we treat ourselves with care, our real age will not be shown. I don't make any secret celebrating my 65th birthday  this year. I enjoyed. I was proud to reach this age with God's help.


I am retiree now - but I love to continue my teaching at the University of Southeastern Philippines and offer my services as German Honorary Consul for the Mindanao people.

If I look around from to time, it seems that the respectable treatment of our beloved seniors around us are disappearing into the past and are forgotten by the younger generation. Praising the elderly nowadays means to attest them impudent and imperishable youth-fullness.

I must confess, I was not much better while talking to my parents and grandparents, who reached the 92th and 93rd birthdays with the help of our Almighty God. Especially my mother was  strong,  indefatigable,  a phenomenon,  intellectual and  spiritual on top until her last breath.

Let's forget our respect, sometimes just being artificial or an affected stammering, that "our old lady" or "our old gentleman" hasn't become senile yet.

On our way to an honorable and respectful age, we should try to fulfill some of our greatest longings in life.

During the last decades I met many people around the whole globe. Unbelievable, I found out, no matter where in this world, the conflicting attitude is everywhere. "It's an absolute certainty, that's doubts are the main certainty!" stressed already the German Author, philosopher and dramatist Bertolt Brecht (1898-1956).

Please allow me, once in a while being able to say NO. Please allow me deleting inferior and defeatist feelings. Please allow me admitting, that I can't do everything during a single day. Please allow me being no longer afraid about other people and their spiteful comments about me.  

Please allow me accepting my silence. Please accept me being terrible tired from time to time. Please allow me being excused even without having an intelligent reply. Please allow me being carried by salvation and bliss.

Hopefully, we may have enough understanding people with us to accompany us during the voyage of our sometimes very conflicting life. Thoughts to guide us by. Especially today on Christmas Day.

Duterte home for the holidays



By: Edith Regalado (The Philippine Star)

DAVAO CITY

President Duterte, as he usually does, is expected to follow his tradition of spending Christmas with his family, especially with his children and grandchildren, here in Davao City.

The President has 10 grandchildren with his children – Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio and sons Paolo and Sebastian – with his first wife Elizabeth Zimmerman.


Duterte also has a child, named Veronica or Kitty, with his partner Cielito Avanceña, who is also based in Davao City.

The President arrived here last night for the Christmas weekend. He is also scheduled to bring holiday cheer to government troops as well as the sick children in a hospital in Davao City.


Presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said yesterday that indeed the President will spend the holidays with his family.

The President usually hosts a Christmas party for the residents at his old house in Barangay Bangkal when he was still mayor of Davao City.

But when he became President in 2016, Duterte could no longer attend the event for security reasons, although the annual gift-giving still continues.

But what the President also wants to do is make sure he has the time to visit the sick children, especially those afflicted with cancer and are confined at the Southern Philippines Medical Centre (SPMC).

“Doon mo makikita ang kanyang (There you can see his) compassion. He sheds tears every time,” Panelo said of the President’s visit to sick children.

The  President also spent Christmas here last year comforting the families of the victims who perished in the fire that gutted a mall in Davao.

Duterte stayed with the families of the victims as he was also the one who announced the predicament of the 38 call center agents who died in the fire that razed the NCCC Mall along Maa Road here on Christmas last year.


Friday, December 21, 2018

Coding lifted for Christmas and New Year holidays



By: Robertzon Ramirez (The Philippine Star)

MANILA, Philippines – The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) lifted yesterday the number coding scheme for the Christmas and New Year holidays.

The MMDA suspended the traffic reduction scheme starting today until Jan. 2 next year for provincial buses.

The agency also lifted the number coding for private cars beginning Dec. 24 to Jan. 2.


The announcement brought confusion to the public after MMDA general manager Jojo Garcia said the agency only suspended the number coding scheme for provincial buses.

Garcia said they would still decide whether or not to lift the traffic scheme for private vehicles on Dec. 26 to 28.


The cities of Makati and Las Piñas have not yet issued announcements on the suspension of their own number coding schemes for the holidays.

EDSA traffic slows down to 14 kph.

The MMDA warned motorists that travel speed on EDSA is expected to slow down due to the surge of travelers during the holidays.

The MMDA said the average travel speed for both lanes of EDSA as of Dec. 13 was at 14.80 kilometers per hour, or 1.34 kph slower than the 16.14 kph in November.

Garcia said the travel speed along the busiest highway in the metropolis is expected to slow down to 12 kph today.

“This is because of the Christmas rush and the high volume of vehicles,” he said.

Based on the MMDA’s record, vehicles passing through EDSA increased to 402,000 on Wednesday, higher than its carrying capacity of 288,000 vehicles per day.

The MMDA said the average volume of vehicles on EDSA per day is only 367,000.

Garcia appealed for public understanding and asked motorists to strictly follow traffic rules to decongest traffic in Metro Manila during the holidays.

Bong Nebrija, traffic czar for EDSA, advised motorists to brace for monstrous traffic jams.

“But we are banking on the discipline of the motorists to address the traffic problem,” he said.

Nebrija said motorists can experience relief when they start implementing traffic reduction measures early next year.


Monday, December 17, 2018

Christmas and Vacation






During the Christmas holidays, we tend to be caught up in the hustle and bustle of the season, so that we sometimes forget the essence of Christmas. We even remove Christ from the word Christmas reducing it to X'mas or substituting it with a name of a product or a shopping center. Yes, guys, honestly, that's it... I really don't enjoy received "XMAS GREETINGS"... .

I am glad looking forward to a two weeks vacation "between the years" - meaning to say between December 21 and January 6. No teaching at University of Southeastern Philippines, although most students wish to be prepared for their January exam in Manila; no office hours in my German Honorary Consulate office and agency... 

A rest from some occupation, business and other stressful activities is waiting for me. Strictly speaking, vacation concerns those who are in school or studying in colleges and universities. "Furlough" would be the appropriate term... .

Christmas and vacation: Speaking about myself - I want to bring back Christ to the holiday season and indeed wish to share my blessings with the less fortunate. One of the best-known religious poems is "The Hound of Heaven" written by Francis Thompson, who tried to run away from God. He wanted to have a vacation from God. In reality it is Thompson's own life. His poem shows clearly the fact in this world that we can have a vacation from physical and mental activities, but never from God.

As I stated before: according to the book of Genesis, after God created the universe in six days, he rested on the seventh day. In other words, he took a vacation. So if God rested after working for some period of time, there is no reason why man, who is finite and limited in his physical strength, should not take a vacation.

Vacation is freedom or release from tension or pressure of work. And, believe me, I learned already from my students, that they will enjoy Christmas and vacation. Many of us feel tired and weak. We are stressed, overwhelmed, depressed,  worried about the future. The enumeration, in any order whatever, could be incessant.

Relaxation, meditation, and re-invigoration are badly needed for most of us nowadays. Life, affected by the "burnout syndrome" needs to be animated with energy and strengths. 

Yes, Christmas has always been equated with all these worldly ways. Sure, there is indeed nothing wrong with this. Let's don't only focus on non-stop merrymaking and countless gifts. Let's take a break, and let's try to imagine and enjoy the real meaning of Christmas. Merry Christmas again to everyone - also from this corner... .

Monday, December 10, 2018

Season of homesickness



HAVE MY SAY
A LITTLE bit more than two weeks. Christmas again.
Much could be told or written about all the wonderful places worldwide. A lifetime would not be enough to discover the whole world. Millions of Filipino migrants are still working and living in many countries all over the world. But those Filipinos are so occupied and tired with work, that on a half-day of not working, they don’t even have the energy to go out anymore.
They prefer to rest instead. They work until dawn. There’s even no more time letters or send emails anymore. They get up early next day to do the same activities. Again and again... They fail to appear on dates or appointments even schedules were already set. On the last minute going out on a free half-day, but suddenly guests arrive who need to be served for example. All these and more make it difficult for the OFW’s to find time for themselves.
Christmas time should let us remember and remind of our beloved ones somewhere out there. Being “there somewhere abroad” is something like being in a garden of roses. Everybody is free to pick up flowers, but surely everybody will not find that easy because the roses are on top of the thorns. Being abroad is even more complicated then that.
Indeed, much has been written and talked about homesickness of mind and heart - especially during Christmas season and the time between “yesterday and tomorrow”.
Many Filipinos stay in countries, where deep winter is reigning right now. Wearing three jackets a day, warm winter clothes and, from the start one must be always in top form, not only lively but also elegantly.
Homesickness usually attacks, when “your people abroad” receive unpleasant notices from home, as I heard many saying before :”Problema at magpadala ka ng pera!”
The loved ones oversea even try to save a little amount for airfares just in case they need to come immediately to their families in the Philippines. Many times they consider the difficulty and complication in sending money home. Many times they can’t afford to visit the Philippines for a long time... .
Homesickness comes, when we hear that one if the boys at home doesn’t want to go to school anymore. Homesickness comes when misunderstandings between husband and wife or closed friends arise.
How about me? Sure, homesickness comes also for me, especially during this time. Even living in the Philippines for good since 1999, I am still missing my home country Germany and many people there. Even or especially a cold Holy and Silent Night with deep snow while walking to midnight mass. Season and homesickness... .

Tuesday, December 4, 2018

Christmas is just around the corner

My today's column in
MINDANAO DAILY
Christmas evokes memories and sentiments that travel with us treasured gifts of our hearts. It is the time for reflection of the year past, of things we've done to make a difference in the lives of others. It's indeed a time for thanksgiving for the blessings received, and for the trials and pains that helped shape, strengthen, and mold us to become better persons.

"Hay nako" - the typical Philippine expression, I adopted many times since living in the Philippines for good. What on earth am I here for?

The more I look around the world, the more people I'm able to observe: stranded people, but many still having the optimistic smile on their faces. People, who are losing more and more of their bearings and are getting muddled in their lives. 

If several political leaders globally confuse us more instead of leading us on the right way, we cry out for a satisfying answer through the institution church. It doesn't matter what season we are in: wars, climate change with natural disasters, helpless politicians at the present G20 - conference trying to portray a positive outlook with their picture taking... . Yes, "hay nako" ...!

Modesty will never get them what they actually deserve. Charity and brotherly or sisterly love, as the bible teaches us, are becoming foreign terms. moral and human values are badly needed to drive and out energy and vigor in our daily life as we stroll into painful indifference and peppered egoism. 

Our daily ill feelings regarding all parts of our life can't be or can't remain as a permanent state of affairs. Incompetent and incapable leaders, who are still being able to continue in their own monstrous, unhindered and impertinent style are every country's poison and reason for decline.

During the last weeks I received innumerable religious and philosophical literature and invitation from several institutions. I must confess, that I have been confused many times. I am sorry and I really wish to apologize, if I reject most "of this stuff", and, if I decide NOT to answer such emails or text messages. Sure, it's is Christmas time, but... .

May the love and humility the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ signified remain etched in our hearts. Let not the frenetic gift-giving and seemingly endless merriment becloud the pristine message that Christmas imparts.

Tuesday, November 27, 2018

Those were the days ...




HAVE MY SAY
By KLAUS DORING
TIME flew by. I think sitting in a jet plane. Almost December again. Wow!
Do you always count the days up to the next legal holidays without being on duty? Or do you start as early as September longing for Christmas?
Many times, we are really too much in a hurry while feeling uncomfortable if we noticed how time flies. We have no time for someone or something or even for ourselves.
When I was still a teenager, I was longing for the time being an adult already. Later, I enjoyed listening to my grandmother’s stories such as “Once upon a time” or “When I was young” from her “yesterday’s life”... .
After a couple of years, especially while observing that time really flies like a racket to the moon, I also got the same question in mind: Are the present hours and days less valuable?
Of course, each day has its own set of happiness and trials. But it also holds very high possibilities of we take the initiative to do or to move something, if... !
The luring term IF let us look into the future with an over “glistening” eye: IF I will finish my studies, IF my children have become adults, IF I might become rich because I win in the lottery, yes IF? And then?
Why do I am getting so thoughtful or even sentimental? I got the great opportunity being invited by the City Mayor’s office thru City Administrator and good friend Attorney Lyca Lopez for the Pasko Fiesta sa Davao event with the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra Manila, soloist Erik Santos and the Nightingales. The PPO under its conductors Yoshikazu Fukumura and Herminigildo Ranerda performed for the first time in Davao City. Erik Santos, the first grand champion of the ABS-CBN singing competition Star in a Million Season 1, touched all of us with his soulful voice.
And then, the Nightingales - a vocal duo featuring Bianca Camille Lopez and Ma. Rhina Paula Palma-Cruz, both former members of the Philippine Madrigal Singers.
While listening to all these amazing and unforgettable performances, I always got in mind: Those were the days. How time flew by. The concert last almost 2 1/2 hours.
The future prospects smile at us already. I was looking already for the 2019-calendar. Setting appointments for January and February. Amazing. Is life in future easier, nicer, more charming and being more fulfilled compared to the present? The thoughts fill me with horror, because tragicomic future visions can easily blur away our present day.
Many of us retreat into the past and forget their present existence. A possible topsy-turvy world of a golden youth tries to let us forget that also the past have had its share of disappointments, pains, tears, darkness, tricky as well as desperate days... yes, lost days, irretrievable time... .
Without having achieved anything to do, we dream our impossible dreams from last to future and vice versus. We forget that between yesterday and tomorrow is our valuable present. Well, now well then - if we know just how to fulfill this period.

Thursday, December 14, 2017

Christmas evokes memories ...

CHRISTMAS EVOKES MEMORIES ...

Yes, Christmas evokes memories and sentiments that travel with us like treasured gifts of our hearts. It is the time for reflection of the past year and of things we've done to make a difference in the lives of others. Hopefully, we did.


Several years ago already, Elvie Punzalan-Estavillo, fellow Philippine Star columnist voiced it out very well. It's indeed a time for thanksgiving for the blessings received, and for the trials and pains that helped shape, strengthen, and mold us to become better persons.

"Hay nako" - the typical Philippine expression, I adopted many times since living in the Philippines for good. What on earth am I here for?

The more I look around, the more people I'm able to observe: stranded people, still having the optimistic smile on their faces. People, who are losing more and more of their bearings and are getting muddled in their lives. 

If political leaders confuse us more instead of leading us on the right way, we cry out for a satisfying answer through the institution church.

Modesty will never get them what they actually deserve. Charity and brotherly or sisterly love, as the bible teaches us, are becoming foreign terms. Moral and human values are badly needed to drive and out energy and vigor in our daily life as we stroll into painful indifference and sharp-peppered egoism. 

Our daily ill feelings regarding all parts of our life can't be or can't remain as a permanent state of affairs. Incompetent and incapable leaders, who are still being able to continue in their own monstrous, unhindered and impertinent style are every country's poison and reason for decline.

During the last weeks, as in every year, I received innumerable religious and philosophical literature and invitation from several institutions. I must confess, that I have been confused many times. I am sorry and I really wish to apologize, if I reject most "of this stuff", and, if I decide NOT to answer such emails or text messages. Sure, it's is Christmas time, but... .

May the love and humility the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ signified remain etched in our hearts. Let not the frenetic gift-giving and seemingly endless merriment becloud the pristine message that Christmas imparts.