Vamos!

I have been fascinated by her since I was a little boy. We actually had a photo taken while I was holding a Batman-and-Robin-sat-in-their-Batmobile toy. I was, for some reason, not smiling at all. Not in the mood perhaps?

I saw her again when the family went to Baguio for a few days. I intended to take her with me, but my parents said "No!" to my pleas. I ended up in tears.

A few years later, I think, an uncle fetched me from where we where staying and, while in my pyjamas, we hurriedly we went to this place to watch a performance. And once again, I saw her in full bloom and in untold majesty!

As I grow up, I made it a point to have and hold her. And my patience and perseverance paid off; I managed to take possession of her, never allowing us to be separated again.

Now hold your donkeys, camels, and sheep! But this 'her' that I was referring to is not a person. She is called 'Belen', the Spanish for Bethlehem, the birth of Jesus; 'Belen', the Nativity scene, the essential reminder of Christmas. It's just sad that more often not that the Christmas tree, Santa Claus, Snowman, etc have got the edge over the Belen. There was a move in one country to phase out the Belen as a Christmas decor to avoid insulting other cultures.

I recall a Spanish Christmas song (villancico)which I used to sing together with my relatives during the Midnight Mass in Kawit, Cavite years ago. An excerpt goes like this:

Vamos pastorcillos
Vamos a Belen
Aver al Mesias que a cava de nacer.

(Let us go, shepherds
Let us go to Bethlehem
To see the Messiah in the cave of His birth.)

As we are about to celebrate the Lord's birth, let us go to the Belen to be reminded once more of who we are that God sent His only Son to be our Redeemer and Friend.