NEW YEAR AT THE LION’S DEN

Talk about giving sunshine to the families of these fishermen at our backyard and the lioness, err. .. the lion tamer will easily fill the grade.

No more than two days after that memorable advanced Christmas celebration that was featured in the article EXPERIENCING A UNIQUE CHRISTMAS AT THE LION’S DEN and she again had another idea in her brain. She said: “How about letting our neighbors at the back experience a different brand of celebrating the New Year? “And how are we supposed to do that?” I barked back, careful in using the word “we” else the lion may be left out in the implementation of whatever she has in mind.

“Well, simple” she said. “I earlier learned that New Year celebration is totally alien to them. They don’t expect it at all. They sleep without preparing food for midnight and the next morning when somebody says “Maugmang bag’ong tuig (Happy New Year)” they would mechanically reply: “Maugmang bag’ong tuig, pod. (Happy New Year, too.) But whatever, its meaning, they frankly don’t know. Or at the very least, they don’t feel it at all.”

“Okay, then, what is your plan? We have already spent our entire budget for the year and surely, any additional expense will mean chopping off a part of our next month’s budget” the lion retorted.

“Okay, consider this” she said. “From the original four families whom we have given food wherewith they can partake during Christmas Eve, we are adding two more on the list. In addition to the families of Jimbo, Eben, Andoy and Pilo whom we have determined earlier to be the object of our Sunshine activity because they don’t even have electrical connections in their respective houses, we now add the families of Dondon and Mike. The latter is especially important because he owns a musical component wherewith we can use for our mini-New Year’s celebration at the back. And I know he can’t refuse, he was apologetic the time we held our December 23rd affair since he was not able to prepare anything as they just arrived from Cagay’an (that’s how Cagayan de Oro is pronounced here) when the celebration was held.”

“In a nutshell,” she continued, “we will organize a New Year get-together at the back. Each family will be encouraged to prepare food that they can afford wherewith we can consume together on New Year’s Eve. They can prepare anything they want. Boiled camote, bananas, biko, (rice cake) anything that we can partake of together during that fateful hour. There will also be dancing both by the children and the adults after the eating.”

And the lion could only say: “Okay, it’s worth a try. I pledge three bottles of long necks called Tanduay Rhum.” . “But you better be careful”, the lion added: “we might ran aground some cherished old traditions here, like interfering with New Year’s Mass observations.” You know how the priest reacts to ideas of Masons, these Godless members of the human race, the lion teased her. And she blurted back: “Don’t worry, I will.” Goody, the bachelor, will also be included.

When she came back, she reported that that the people adverted to where very enthusiastic at the prospects of enjoying the lion tamer’s plan. Pilo, Andoy and Eben pledged a part of their catch for the night to be broiled and eaten as “sumsuman” (hey there!, what’s the English translation for this term?), the wives coordinated on who will cook the camote, who is assigned to cook the “biko” and Baby, the wife of Mike pledged to bring spaghetti and pork adobo as their special share to cover for their failure to bring something during the December 23rd celebration. For our part, in addition to the Rhum, we also put on the table a kilo of peanuts. (Remember the Flash Elorde’s advertisement “isang platitong mani’?)

The hands of father Time finally announced the advent of the New Year but unlike in the metropolis whose noise barrage we were accustomed to hear, what we heard was no more than a whimper that broke the stillness of the night. Well, except for the few firecrackers and “kwitis” that somehow managed to shoot itself up way to the skies.

At about 12:30 the food was finally on the table and so the lion tamer ordered Mike to deliver a special prayer addressed to the Lord. Which made the lion muse, “hey, this is no different. “Before all else, we must invoke the blessings of God!” And what say you?!

After the joint partaking of the food were the dancing by the children and the ladies, “Otso, otso, laban, bawi”, and all those lively tunes that are the craze not only of the town but of the entire archipelago. And all the while, the husbands, fishers all, including four singles named Eddie Boy, Joejack, and Joseph who frequent our backyard during the wee hours of the night were enjoying fishermen’s talk (like the big fish that got away) over the three bottles of Tanduay Rhum.

What a memorable event not only for these fishermen but also for the lion and his tamer who were uprooted from their old and noisy habitat!!

And a Happy New Year even to those who have not yet crossed the time zone that announces the advent and reckoning of the official New Year’s time!