SAN FELIPE, Zambales—“Doon kayo kay Santa Claus [Go sit near Santa Claus].”
Anjovil Villanueva, a 30-year-old resident of Barangay Sto. Niño in this town, was coaching her three children before taking their picture. It was their second time this week to be here at the municipal park, which is now aglow at night with a Winter Wonderland-themed light display.
Seated near Santa and with the huge sack of tinsel-wrapped gifts behind them, the kids made cutesy faces as their mother clicked away on her camera phone—capturing them in Santa’s reindeer-drawn sleigh, freezing their joy in digital eternity, and sharing with them a night to remember.
“Maganda po kasi dito at masaya (It’s a beautiful and happy place),” explained Alaiza Jane, 12, Anjovil’s eldest. This is why they keep coming back, she said.
Her mother agreed, pointing out the rarity of both place and moment. “Bihira kasi na merong ganito. Kahit sa mga bahay bihira na ang may pailaw, kaya dito kami nagpupunta (Nowadays we rarely see Christmas displays like this—even in houses. That is why we come here).”
Lights, camera, groufie
SINCE late last month, all the town halls and nearby public parks in all the 13 municipalities of Zambales lit up with LED light displays that drew residents and visitors alike like moths to their multi-colored illumination.
In Sta. Cruz, the northernmost town in Zambales, the display started at the entrance arc of the municipal park, narrowed to a pedestrian tunnel, then emerged at the other side for a full-light cladding of the municipal hall. The full light display on the town hall is a feature also seen in the municipalities of San Antonio, Castillejos, and Subic.
Masinloc town, meanwhile, incorporated booths displaying the town’s tourism attractions to maximize the impact to visitors, while San Marcelino dressed up its public park in tasty-looking candy canes and lollipop that became a favorite groufie background for teenagers.
The light display in Botolan, on the other hand, was notable for its somber white color of stylized angels, with little use of LED lights that starkly contrasted with most of the other LGU displays.
One of the most popular Christmas displays in the province remains to be that on the façade of the Zambales provincial capitol building, a dazzling spectacle supplemented by three giant Christmas trees, two Christmas wreaths customized for groufies, and a light tunnel that snaked its way between the Christmas trees.
Governor Hermogenes Ebdane Jr., who switched on the Christmas lights on November 25, said the Christmas tree-lighting ceremony and light show at the Capitol traditionally signaled the Christmas festivities in the province and the start of similar Christmas-themed displays in its 13 municipalities.
The Capitol displays, he added, were “a huge morale boost to Zambaleños, who like everybody else in the country, must contend with the lingering effects of the health crisis and other everyday struggles.”
Residents’ delight
THE glittering displays of Christmas lights bring a special delight to residents here. Perhaps even to adults who must decide on whether P500 would suffice for a family of four’s noche buena, or the traditional Christmas Eve feast.
The Department of Trade and Industry, in a now pulled-out infomercial, may have only highlighted the gnawing lack that faced over 5.6 million Filipinos families living in poverty as of 2022, according to a list released by the Department of Social Welfare and Development, but the simple joys of family bonding could be heightened by light and color.
Gary Nelfred Macabare, 50, said he brings his two-year old daughter to view the Capitol lights every night ever since it was turned on last month.
“Masaya ang mga tao dahil dito [The people are happy seeing this],” he observed. “Kung hindi pa kay Governor, wala naman sanang ganito dito [We wouldn’t have anything like this were it not for the efforts of the Governor],” he added.
The same pleasure was expressed by a young couple who walked into the light tunnel at the Capitol on Wednesday night. It was their second time to be here, said Carmela and Kenneth Manaloto, who come from Barangay Dirita in Iba town.
Their one-year-old son Khen Azial simply enjoyed the colorful lights, they said.
Esmeralda, the two-year-old granddaughter of San Agustin resident William Mendones, 57, also asks to see the light displays once a week, her grandfather whom she calls Tatay said.
“Dito na kami namamasyal ng mga apo ko [This is where we take a walk now with our grandchildren],” said Mendones, who was with his wife Susan, 58. “Family bonding na rin (It’s also for family bonding).”
He said he’s now making up for the time he failed to bond with his own children because he was still working full time then. “Bumabawi na lang ako sa mga apo ko. Mabuti naman at mayroong ganito; nakaka-enganyong magkasama ang pamilya [I’m just making it up with my grandchildren. It’s a good thing that there’s something like this; the family is encouraged to be together],” Mendones said.
Bringing more Christmas joy
THE simple joys that Zambaleños derive from Christmas lights displays are matched by the provincial government’s Christmas Package delivery, an annual project of the Ebdane administration.
According to personnel at the Governor’s Office, they have distributed food packages for Christmas to some 250,000 households in the 13 towns of Zambales since November 28.
The package consisted of some pasta and spaghetti sauce, canned corned beef, cheese, a pack of Graham crackers, Alaska cream, and a liter of Smart C juice. The package would surely add up to whatever noche buena that residents plan to feast on.
Image credits: Henry Empeño