Giving Hope on Christmas
Christmas is the time of
the year when houses are filled with hugs and laughter as family members from
all over come home to celebrate with their loved ones. Parents, grandparents,
aunts, or uncles arrive, and with them are boxes filled with presents for every
member of the family. ’Tis indeed the season for family gatherings and
reunions, but it is also a time for receiving and giving gifts.
Shopping malls around the
country have cut the prices of their products because they know the pressure
that everyone is feeling to give the perfect present for their families and
friends. Many people want gadgets like phones and laptops while some wish for a
car or other material things. In this day and age where expensive gifts are
taking over the holiday season, one of the most important presents that we
could give others is hope.
It is hope which lifts
people’s spirits up when they are down, and it is hope which Jesus Christ
brought with Him when he was born. Christian or non-Christian, the story of the
humble birth of a child on a manger speaks to anyone because it is a story of
hope. His birth, according to Pope Francis, “speaks of a different hope, a
trustworthy, visible and understandable hope, because it is founded on God.”
Hope is something that
every person needs. Children waiting for their OFW parents to come home on
Christmas after years spent apart, students studying hard to pass their exams
and graduate, and even men and women seeking employment need it, because
without it, they wouldn’t have anything to look forward to. But what is hope
without action? Hope is merely a driving force for us to keep aiming for the thing
that we want most, a spark which ignites us to work hard to achieve our goals.
“Balon Gapo, Balon Ilalo”
or “New Beginning, New Hope” was the slogan for the previous town fiesta, and
Bayambangueños have indeed experienced living in a new and improved Bayambang,
a hopeful, promising town. Mayor Cezar T. Quiambao is a visionary who makes big
things happen because he hopes for the best for all Bayambangueños. Since first
taking office, Mayor Quiambao has done so much for his hometown and its people.
His administration has spearheaded countless events which were organized to
help everyone, especially the poor, in town. He is called “Santa Claus” during
Christmas season not just because of all his contributions to Bayambang’s
development, but also for the gift that he has brought to all Bayambangueños:
hope. He is helping Bayambangueños realize their full potential to make sure
that they would have a better town and better future, not just on Christmas,
but all year round.
One of the most notable
events which happened recently is the Anti-Poverty Summit, an important step
that the Quiambao-Sabangan administration took for its Revolution Against
Poverty.
Representatives from different sectors shared their knowledge
regarding how we can eradicate poverty in Bayambang and how the different
sectors should work together to achieve a common goal. Aside from steps to
eradicate poverty, the Quiambao-Sabangan administration has also made the
country take notice of Bayambang. Paskuhan sa Bayambang II by Rosario Animated
Display is now reportedly the biggest animated Christmas display in the
Philippines and it is found at the Municipal Plaza. This gives Bayambangueños
more opportunities for tourism as more people would come to Bayambang to see
the spectacle.
Events like these educate
and uplift the spirits of Bayambangueños. The administration has exerted
efforts to give Bayambangueños hope by opening up opportunities for everyone.
But in order to succeed, Bayambangueños are the ones who should make the
changes within themselves. Hope can always be found within oneself; sometimes one
just needs the help of another person to see it. This is why it is one of the
most important gifts that we could offer this Christmas. Hope is something that
we could give to our loved ones, or even to strangers, because we never know
who might need it.
As Pope Francis once said,
“Hope never stops; it’s always on a journey, and it makes us walk forward.”
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