by Telly G. Ocampo
How do we celebrate the New Year?
It is in my advancing years when I realized that people have been fixated on anything round – from fruits to dresses and toys – as they welcome the New Year. Pugson gyud nila ang pagpalit ug pagpahinog sa mga prutas mga duha (2) ka adlaw sa dili pa matapos ang Disyembre. These fruits are of several kinds including those unheard of when I was growing up. In those days only apples and grapes could be bought at the market. And only during the Christmas season that we could buy such kinds of fruits.
In this age of globalization and importation, all kinds of fruits are available in the market. My cousin Myrna gifted me with several kinds of fruits and a half dozen of torta. In the box were kiwi (which I thought were chicos). I have tasted only sliced kiwi in specialty shops, and this was my first time to see a whole fruit. You have to carefully peel off the skin of the kiwi to see its second layer of green cover.
My daughter Irene, bought a few pieces of persimmon fruit and she felt these were foreign to her. She brought home Korean persimmon. I have not been ignorant to the fruit since my cousin Gundelina brought some from the tree of her sister in California. That was a crispy persimmon that I first tasted.
People have gone “crazy” over the fruits they buy for the New Year. Matud pa sa uban, kinahanglan naa tay prutas nga pineapple aron daghan ta ug mata ug aron alerto ta sa New Year. Unya, bisan ug buwas-buwas pa ang prutas, paliton lang gyud aron makompleto ang pagdayan – dayan sa talad kan-anan. Makita nimo sa la mesa ang tambalijong, ubas (grapes), chicos, pakwan, oranges, bo-ongon, ug uban pa. And, for some, that would already be picture-perfect to be posted on social media via the mobile phone attached to the greetings of “Happy New Year”. To be added to the picture-perfect tableau, would be the attire with polka dots presening the color of the year.
These practices are, to me, all right, as they do not disturb, in any way, our peace and quiet.
But the noise of VERY many kind is VERY obnoxious. Dili ma-agwanta. Sayo sa buntag sa Dec. 31, diha na sugod na ang karaoki. Mura ug mogawas gyud ang tilaok sa pagkanta. It got worse towards the evening of Dec. 31. Nawala na gyud ang kaikog sa mangantahay kay naka-tubil na man kuno sa “gasoline” sa tilaok nga mao ang bino. Indeed, drinking is the twin of karaoke.
About 9 o’clock in the evening of the same day, all kinds of noise pervaded the environment. Gasugod na ang butobuto. Kinakusogan na ang colume sa sound system. Bog bog bog pud ang atong dughan. For the senior citizens, it was like the “agony in the garden”. Unya ang rebolusyon sa mga motorcycles, mura ug gyera na karon nagpanghitabo gawas sa nasud. Wala gyuy kaluoy sa mga senior nga senior citizens.
You could see all the dogs seek the darkest and narrowest corner of the house. All my pets flocked to my bed asking to be hugged and to be assured that they were all safe. We have 7 dogs: 2 small ones in their cage crying until the last sound of pyrotechnics was gone. That was already at around 3 in the morning.
The scenario brought me back to the time of typhoon Odette when the disastrous wind stopped at 3 in the morning, too. What a coincidence. Then and only then, were we put to slumber.
And, what a way to welcome 2024! Despite the pounding and the thumping of my heart, I still struggled to feel positive about my prayers hoping for a better year.
12 kinds of round fruits for New Year
Several kinds of materials/instruments to produce heavy sounds for the New Year
New Year fireworks