Where’s Santa Claus?

By Atty. Eduardo T. Reyes III

It’s Christmas. But where is Santa?

The chunky white-bearded man in red bearing gifts for children in a sack had seemed to desert big malls here in Iloilo City as well as in other parts of the country. Whatever happened to Santa?

The last sighting of this staple of a character for the season was before the pandemic struck. Did it scare him away?

Along with Santa is the magic that his gifts can bring. With the conspicuous absence of this big man, it seems we are also longing for the magic to come by.

In life we make wishes. (Of course, we pray a lot, too). The capability to make a wish under dire circumstances is a sign of positivity. Of being sanguine.

Christmas is a time for wishes. It is a time for optimism.

Life is becoming more complex as the years go by. 2025 is just a few days away. What is in store in the coming year? Your guess is as good as mine.

But we must not let the uncertainty drive away our positivism. We face our fears, as they say, even if it means we have to ride Santa’s reindeers in their uptight journeys after the pandemic.

The closing of the year is also about ironies. Reaching the end means looking back at the beginning. What have we done so far? Are there things we need to mend and make amends for?

The year’s culmination is never too late to do so.

As this column would often underline, Christmas is about family. The best thing about this season is it brings families back together.

While reading this piece,  let us hope that when the doorbell chimes, it will be our family members just outside the door. If not, they are just a message away.

Either personally or virtually, let’s give one another a big hug. Just like that big fat hug from our dear old Santa. He is there in the corner of our eye.

Let all our anxieties be carried away by the reindeers even as we listen to Santa say, “everything will be alright.”

Merry Christmas to all the readers of Daily Guardian!

(The author is the senior partner of ET Reyes III & Associates (ETRIIILaw)– a law firm based in Iloilo City. He is a litigation attorney, a law professor, MCLE lecturer, bar reviewer and a book author. Among the books he authored is Law on Property and Essentials of Land Registration [2024 Edition] which was on the bestseller’s list in online shops for several months. His website is etriiilaw.com).