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Why do we celebrate the new year? Why do we go through all the trouble of going back home to the provinces or gathering everyone around the dinner table before the clock strikes midnight? There is a psychological importance to bidding goodbye to the old year and to welcoming a new year. A new year signifies hope and a new beginning. It is as if the turning of the new calendar can erase everything unsavory about the previous year and giving everyone a clean slate for the incoming year. A fresh start to life.

One of my staff asked me recently: “Sir, what was your Christmas like when you were growing up 25 in Tondo?” I do not know why but my memory immediately took me back to Mary Johnston. Mary Johnston Hospital (MJH), run by the United Methodist Church, is a health care provider that has been in existence since 1906. In its 118 year history, MJH has been tending to the health needs of the people of Tondo. But it is not their glorious history nor their commendable public service that came to mind, it was one of the Christmas parties they organized on behalf of a benefactor for the underprivileged kids of Tondo that I remember the most.

You hear a lot of people say that Christmas is only for children. Christmas is indeed for children. First, the season is about the birth of child Jesus, our Lord. Second, it is simply wonderful to see the pure and unadulterated happiness in the eyes of children whenever they open gifts or see Santa Claus.