THE MEMORIES OF NEW YEAR

PIAGIT NG MGA ISO KADUNG-GAN KO

IYAK HAW HIKO SA LANGIT YASANGKO

KITA KO SANG ARANG NA BAYHO

KALIPAY  NG TANAN, SANG TUIG NA BAG-O!

(Children’s joyous shouts ringing in my ear

Sounds of laughter makes sky so near

Gleeful faces so I see

Happiness brought about by new years day!)

 

“sige da!....sige da! Dapat mauna kita! Para makakita kita ng madyaw!” (come on…come on! Let’s be first, so we could get a good view!)………

”naa pa! tagad naa!” (uh huh! Wait! )…… “paspas!...hinayay mo!” (faster!...you’re so slow!)

“ uy! Pagdali!....si tyo dodoy yang-hatag da ng bisyuhan!” (oh…come on quickly.….uncle dodoy is giving out toys already!)

 

tyo dodoy to everyone with bani, tatta and jager

Timeline; January 1, of every year….that  will be tomorrow….


unlike other people, my memories seem to glue not on the  joyous holiday celebration, not on the round fruits, dotted dresses, and gifts, and songs…sure they are part of it, but vividly the memory of my father lingered like it was just yesterday.

9:00 a.m., as soon as the celebration of the catholic mass ended, people from all ages arrive in front of our house in Rizal street, Cateel Davao oriental Philippines. Everyone was in a hurry, some scampered to get hold first of different kinds of toys given out that year.

 

“ako! Ayy ako!!!!” (me..oh me!!!!) “tyo dodoy, tyo dodoy!!! Wa pa ako makadawat!” (uncle dodoy, uncle dodoy!!! I haven’t receive any yet!!)” “tyo dodoy…tyo!!! Tagai ako, tagai ako palihug!!!” (uncle dodoy….uncle!!! Give me, give me please!!!)


My father was uncle to everybody. In fact the whole town called him "tyo" (uncle). though his full name, Pretextato doesn't sound appealing (he admits that), so he loved the nickname "dodoy".

Memories flash to me right now clearly, like I am watching a movie! Those voices, shouts laughter…….brought tears and joy and smile into my moments of recollection.

 

Giving out of toys was only a start, there come the much awaited part everyone was anticipating. The games……contest …prizes….

The prizes given out at that time was only a meager amount, but the happiness and enjoyment  that was visible in everyone’s face was  so gratifying!

Boys and girls of any age participated, (at first, it was intended for kids only) There was contest for peeling and eating bananas …where the bananas are tied with strings and while hanging, kids with hands secured at their backs, will remove peelings off with their teeth and eat the fruit inside. Should consumed it all, without touching the fruit, and should not get help from anyone….

Another enjoyable game was sticking the coin at the outside  bottom of the pot, so dirty from cooking with firewood. They have to remove the coin with their noses, and kids all ended up with very dirty faces…..like cats stealing fish from a dirty pot!

Then there was this tug of war …participated by boys and girls…where the losers dived on the sandy ground ending up powdered with dust, but still stood up grinning.

And how can I forget the sack race? Kids get inside the sack (one needs to bring their own sack…I remember kids usually




bring big sacks, they said, the wider space gives them the room to execute higher jumps to outrun their opponents! The funny thing is, some kids are so small, and yet they brought big sacks, that when they get inside, they cannot be seen anymore!

I remembered my daughter Juddie Ann. Everyone 
fondly call her tatta,  she
 was so small during that time, and she still insist on joining the contest. Yet so tiny she was (2 or 3 years old), that she can’t cope up with the speed and strength of the other kids…she always end up losing! And her grandfather (my father) always came to her rescue…that means giving her a separate prize! Lol (she was the apple of his eyes, anything she wants, she gets! A certified brat, so they say).

Juddie Anne (tatta) at 2 years old

Sandwich snacks are given out to ease the hunger and juices to quench the thirst. Some who just live nearby goes home for lunch and come back to continue the fun which will last till the afternoon. the event culminates with a betamax movie show which will last till evening.

In the later years, even the not so young engage in the fun too. I remembered the oldies (grandmothers) doing the trip to Jerusalem! I still remember, tya manti, ompo puring, ompo doling….and a lot more , I can’t recall now all the names…but the kids enjoyed cheering for their grand mothers.

As the years go by, it became a tradition. Without giving out notices or words, every January 1, people just automatically come to the same place and enjoy.

It  started when I was still young, maybe 14-15 years old. I  remembered my father and mother told me a story;

baby bekoy and tatta

My  youngest brother (baby bekoy or Roberto) was born, and my mother had a difficulty because she was diabetic. The baby has to be born by cesarean on the eight month, otherwise he  will die in the womb, like the baby that preceded him. Because of my mother’s condition, they were having financial difficulties. Transportation to the city during  that  time was so hard. No highways; only by pump boat to cross the vast pacific  ocean, and a land trip for 12 hours to reach the city or by hiring a chartered private plane.

When my mother and the baby was discharge from the hospital, they are running a debt  of several thousands of pesos, which during that time was a huge amount.

The hard times continued for several years. Watching my brother grew, with a debt  attach to his existence is like a knife striking repeatedly on my parents’ hearts.

My  baby brother grew sickly and have some allergies with food and medicines. Several  times he was in the berg of death and I remembered hearing my father praying; "Lord if you will give my son to me I will devote one day in a year to make children  happy".  And my mother told me, everyday…even  when she is in the kitchen or in the toilet, she was praying to God to give her  financial capability to pay the hospital debt, (she personally believes that one of the reasons why my brother was sickly, is because there's a heaviness caused by  the unpaid hospital bills).

True, no prayers will be left unanswered when your heart is pure. The whole town were  living witnesses to how my family rose from rugs.

My mother and father put in some amount in an empty water container everyday, from the sales in our general  merchandise store. Every time the container became full, they will take a new  one, and slowly fill it up again. Every end of the year, they will open it, and me and  my siblings will help count it and those are what we use to buy the toys, food and prizes. It continued even after I got married and have children, and  my brother baby bekoy (Roberto) to whom it was dedicated, got married too. And the  once kids that engage in the contests, got married, and their children were the  ones now playing the games, while they themselves contented to become cheerers.

When  my mother died, the tradition stopped, especially that my father became sickly. He married his second wife and had 2 children, until he was diagnosed to have a  cancer of the lungs (due to heavy smoking). Though the doctor gave him 3 months to live, he lasted for 1 ½ more years.

Never  in my wildest imagination, that people will ever remember those days until after I had some exchanges of comments with dondon (roedel Emboscado) in facebook. Roedel, and his siblings lanlan and kokoy were my daughter's playmates. He made  mention about how they treasured the experience they have when they were kids. The event every new year's day was very important in their young minds, something they  always look forward to. Dondon (roedel) hopes that the legacy left by papa will  continue for the new generations to experience and enjoy the way they did before.

I  remembered dondon, lanlan, nonoy, epen, bani, baday, baloy baning, landot, Portia, bandjing  and a lot more kids in our area; they are the contemporaries of my daughter tatta (juddie). Everyone of them grew to become good citizens….truly, the kids  that play on the streets are more sensible, outgoing, productive and creative. Some of  them have their own families now. Some, works with private and government   sector, some, went abroad. What I noticed is; not one of the kids in our area turned to become a liability of the society. Praise God!

Most of all, it gave me immeasurable joy to know that some of my father's goodness was  not forgotten. I also share the same desire to continue what he had started. To  borrow Roedel’s words; "if tyo dodoy was able to do it alone, how much more if we bound together and continue the tradition he had started for the new  generations to come". We are hoping to start the ball rolling by next year! Happy  new year everyone!

P/S 
If you are one of the kids that was part of this memory, please leave a comment and/or upload any photo of those yesteryears. thank you.