08/17/18   Night Before the Celebration of Sto. Nino' de Agosto

"Beautiful things happen when you distance yourself from the negative. You're given this life because  you are strong enough to live it."

'Twas the night before the annual celebration of the Holy Infant devotion popularly known as the Sto. Nino', when devotees were busy decorating the church and  the gym where the program will be held after the procession and Mass on Saturday (08/18/18).

The Sto. Nino' devotion is usually celebrated in the Philippines, on the first month of the year but due to the season here in America, an idea was hatched by Rev. Leoncio Santiago, former  Pastor of St. Genevieve of 4835 W. Altgeld, Chicago, IL 60639.(1998-2008) to have a one grand celebration on the month of October to unite all the  different devotional groups. The venue  selected was St. Matthias Church in the north side of Chicago which was accessible for everybody.

This year's 14 participating groups were: (1) Senor Sto Nino Devotees of Zamboanga del Nortte, (2) Sto Nino devotees of St Lambert, Skokie, (3) Divino Nino/Divine Mercy group of Transfiguration, (4) Sto Nino Devotees/Divine Mercy Apostolate/Crusade, (5) Sto Nino of the Midwest, (6) Sto Nino/ Mother Cabrini Prayer Group, (7) Sto Nino  Devotees - Tanghal Family,(8) Sto Nino del Ciudad de Zamboanga, ( 9) Sto Nino - St Matthias Legion of Mary, (10) Sto Nino/ Legion of Mary, Our Lady of Ransom, (11) Sto Nino/Society of Beloved Disciple, St. Matthias, (12) Sto Nino, Fil-Am Group of Skokie, (13) Cathedral Filipino Network, (14) Sto Nino Prayer Group of South Dupage.

On this night, barely before the departing time, I was engaged in a likable conversation with a man from Tarlac province of the island of Luzon, Philippines. He was a pleasing guy, a product of one of Manila's top universities. He said that the present president was running the country well as changes were  felt and seen everywhere but only one thing he doesn't like is about justice on human rights, that a person is innocent until proven guilty.

Our conversation drifted to food, about the Filipino delicacies that lead to some nostalgic scenario about the culture of our country. We touched on the tasty frog legs. That frogs could only be caught at night on the ricefield with a flashlight or a petromax (a brand name for a type of pressurised paraffin lamp (US: kerosene lamp) that uses a mantle; synonymous with the paraffin lamp on the continent as Tilley lamps are in Britain and Coleman lamps are in the U.S.) and that not all frogs were edible. I said I have my first bite of tasty frog legs in a restaurant in Tarlac province  on my way to Villasis, Pangasinan where I spent a summer vacation. I also continued that, it was at Villasis  where I have my first taste of a native dog meat and also the intestines cooked like sausage, where the man's best friend was left to fast and only water was given to drink, days before this became man's food on his table. I was then in my 20's. The favorite drink with that was lambanog, a drink from a concoction of coconut sap or sugarcane juice.

In Mindanao, where I came from, our favorite drink which was affordable was tuba, a concoction from the sap of the coconut tree. This man from Tarlac province of Central Luzon said people of his ilk learned well the value of guts and survival as Mother Nature provided everything. So the people gathered edible things that grow from the fertile soil and converted them into food. And they cooked simply by practically boiling , grilling or  maybe frying. They just boiled the vegetables, then sprinkled with salt to taste. These foods were fresh and healthy.

On the mass, Fr. Leoncio Santiago gave a homily that touched on simplicity and complexity. This  complicated world's secret is to live a simple life with less stress by practicing the philosophy of simple living and cooking a poor man's meal. Make sense, really !