Yearly Events

When I was young, I remember my cousin Adele telling me. "If you look forward and follow all the important events that transpire in a year, you will find out that one year passes by so quickly." 

A year does pass by really fast and basing on the events that I follow annually, below are celebrations that I usually observed:

1. New Year's Day - It used to be a family beach day until kidnapping started in the city. Now, new year has become a nice rest day for everybody.

2. Chinese New Year - This is usually celebrated around January or February basing on the lunar calendar. I get to celebrate Chinese New Year more traditionally after I married Lucas. I have been hosting the family dinner ever since the demise of my mother-in-law. She used to live with me and the ancestral pictures are hanged at my home. The Tan family members come to eat together whenever they are around.

3. Valentine's Day - I really do not anticipate celebrating Valentine's Day at all. Honestly, when I was young, I dreaded even the thought of the approach of Valentines for obvious reasons. Hahaha. (Until my husband came a courting.) Generally, Chinese guys are quite passive when it comes to overt romantic gestures. But sometimes Lucas would surprise me once in awhile. Hehehe.

4. Wedding Anniversary - Lucas and I got married on February 17, 1974. Each year, I do all the planning and preparation to celebrate the occasion. Sometimes we spend it together by our twosome, or with our children, other times with friends. Be it big or small, I have so much to be thankful for.

5. Closing of the school year and/or graduation - The event usually takes place in March. I look forward to vacation time. Each time my children finished school, I felt ever so very proud and teary eyed during their graduations. When St. Martha School was still functioning, I headed the commencement exercise. The kindergarten school always had memorable, inspiring and interesting closing ceremonies.

6. Holy Week - I like to observe Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday in Cotabato.

7. Summer vacation - When I was teaching, I had 2 month summer vacation with pay, so I spent most of my time and money by bringing my family to different places in the Philippines. We liked to go to the beaches most specially. Up till now, I look forward to spending my vacation with them.

8. School Opening in June - Whenever I go to the mall and see stores with school uniforms on display and school supplies on stacks, it makes me sad to think that my summer vacation is over, and back to work I must go.This feeling pervades even though I am a retired teacher now.

9. Birthdays - Lucas was born on July 12 and my eldest son Roy on July 15. Traditionally on July 12, we treat our store workers and house helps with meriendas. They look forward to it.

10. School foundation day in September - CCI my high school alma mater foundation day is celebrated on September 3. It was a big event before but now a days, I don't relish attending any of it's program anymore. September 8 though is a special day for our Blessed Virgin Mother. Without her, how can we human ever be saved by Jesus.

11. Moon Festival -This is an auspicious day for celebrating anything. It is a festive lunar event in Asia. It is our house anniversary in Cotabato too. Back when the city was still safe, our group of friends would play traditional mooncake party at home. Lately the friends have dispersed and stayed away, but I still celebrate it privately by hanging a yellow lantern, eating sweet mooncake and drinking Chinese tea with my husband.

12. October - Semetral break happens around end of October to first week of November. My sister Helen's birthday is on October 31. If I were in Manila, I would invite myself to her birthday. We don't observe Halloween here but rather we prepare to go to the cemetery on November 1st - All Souls Day.

14. More birthdays - ever since I was young, November has been a month long celebration of birthdays.  Many of us cousins and kins are November born. My best friends Imelda and Anita, we used to call ourselves "The Scorpians". I tend to get along well with people of the same zodiac sign who are passionate, sincere and honest and those who shun getting too much attention for themselves. Scorpios are known to be dangerously toxic creatures but generally, they blend well with their environment.

15. December is my favorite month. The happy yuletide season: the carolings, the festivity, the holiday greetings and decorations, parties, dawn masses, family reunions, homecoming, new years eve celebration etc. It tops them all! I go through the wonderful events of the year and enjoy each month but deep in my heart, like a child, I wait for Christmas season to arrive.

At the moment, graduation is on the air and school is closing fast. Pretty soon, you'll see me swimming and relaxing in one of the nice beaches of the Philippines. Hehehe.