There will be no issue of The Manila Times tomorrow, December 25. This is because we have decided to give our hard-working managers and staff Christmas Day off. They’ve all earned the extra day of rest.

Since all of the government and most of the private sector are closed for the holidays, we expect that there will not be too many newsworthy events today for tomorrow’s paper; at least nothing earthshaking, although we have not forgotten that killer tsunami that hit our part of the world the day after Christmas Day in 2004.

The year about to end has been a most eventful one, not only for us here at The Times, but throughout the country. Some of the events we faced as a nation gave us reason for merriment, specifically the steady growth of the economy and the stock market that zoomed upwards practically non-stop throughout 2012.

The generally good economic environment tells us that the coming year could be even better. More jobs will be created, and more wealth spread out so that the middle class expands further. This spells not only economic stability, but political stability as well.

Other events that we faced this year were quite tragic, and none moreso than the calamity that was Typhoon Pablo.

This week, we learned that the death toll from that super storm could exceed 1,500. That’s a lot of our countrymen, whose only mistake was to live in an area that would be hit by one of the biggest natural disasters to visit the Philippines in decades.

Our thoughts and prayers go to the victims as well as the survivors of Pablo. We realize that this will be the worst Christmas season ever for those who survived, but who lost everything. More than 100,000 of our countrymen were rendered homeless by that disaster and it is our fervent hope that their lives return to normal as soon as possible.

We who were lucky to have been spared should be thankful. More than this, we should extend our support to those who were not as lucky.

Some government agencies and private corporations dispensed with the usual Christmas parties and provided financial aid to the victims of Pablo instead. Others cut down on their holiday celebrations and also extended what help they could.

Indeed, this is what Christmas is all about. It is not so much a time for celebration as it is a time for sharing with those who have less in life, or those who have faced the most unfortunate of circumstances.

It is not enough to provide one-time help for the survivors. The victims of Pablo will still be desperate for food, water, shelter and clothes in the weeks and months to come. They are all on survival mode these days and are counting on our help to get by.

Whatever their religious beliefs, they are counting on the true Christians among us to keep on giving until it hurts.

The happiest day of the year
Christmas Day is traditionally the happiest day of the year for the Filipino people. It is a day for family get-togethers and reunions. It is not intended to be a day of crass commercialism when a Christian holiday is used as an excuse for excessive wining and dining.

Today, we are reminded of the teachings of the Christ child who was born in a manger more than 2,000 years ago. Whatever you do to the least of my breathren, you do unto me, the Son of Man said.

Christmas is a time for giving, and it would not be a bad idea for us to refocus our gift giving to those who were wiped out by Pablo.

We can also pay closer attention to those who end up in the streets begging for scraps and loose change. Yes, they can be very irritating when they grab your clothes and demand—not ask—for alms. Yet can we blame them? Poverty is the only life they have ever known, and they look at the Christmas season as the time of year when they can be more aggressive in soliciting food, clothes or money from total strangers.

For more than four centuries, the Philippines stood tall as the only predominantly Christian nation in Asia. If all of us, or at least the majority of us, were to practice the essential teachings of our religion, this can be a merry Christmas to millions of our countrymen who have less in life.

It’s a thought, isn’t it? One that we at The Times feel is worth thinking about as we spend quality time with our family and friends tomorrow.

From all of us here at the country’s oldest English language newspaper, to all our loyal readers, advertisers, followers and friends, a very Merry Christmas!