That 'Ber' Months

By: DSV

Oh no, this is not about beer months like the German's October Beer Festival. Yet, I miss the fun and thrill of Oktober Fest in Manila we used to observe when we were staying in Tondo- those German clad in Bavarian skirts…. tall beer mugs with german sausages as pulutan, the beer drinking tournament with that long drinking 'test tube' looking glasses….roll up the barrel….until you develop the preggy look with your beer belly . Well, we can't deny the fact that here in Pinas, all the 12 months of the year are beer months. All this beer is another story. Let me get to my real 'ber' story then.

We Pinoyski on this side of the world get into the jolly mood once we hit the "ber" months starting September. What comes to mind is an abstraction of things that normally happen during the preparation for the celebration of that jolly yuletide season. Here are local snap shots at home about being in the early 'ber' months:

· Funny, this early September, people are excitedly keen to listen to Christmas songs/music being aired on radios. That's why foreigners would label the Pinoys as the only mankind on earth who observes the longest the Christmas season. Sabrie and I would play with gusto taped carols in the car during the long drive to Manila during weekends. That essence of Christmas keeps us going.

However, I kind of wonder that on the day itself, Dec. 25, you'll hardly hear Christmas carols played on the radios. Maybe, people get tired of the carols somehow. But the spirit is still there.

· Sabrie is found ecstatic making calculations of how much money is left of my holiday bonus after paying the credit cards, the loans, the gifts and many others. At the end she'll give a big sigh, "Ayyy, muntik ng walang matira…."

· Shopping malls in October would change inventory of apparels that draw a lot of Pinoys to "shop till you drop" for their holiday dresses and gifts. This is the reason why many companies would already pay portion of the Christmas bonus as early as October or November to take this advantage and prevent the Christmas rush. Come December, the some same folks would ransack malls for new set of wardrobe since the ones purchased earlier are already "old."

In our case, we shop only for gifts in December. The brood would always wear old clothes during the holiday season and would shop for new ones after the holidays (in February or March) to avail of new stocks, kuno (sa tutoo lang walang ng 'atik' kasi). #DSV