Black Clouds in Manila: a People Undefeated: Book 2 by Tessie Jayme

Author:Tessie Jayme [Jayme , Tessie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781483525761
Publisher: BookBaby
Published: 2013-03-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 23

RESOURCEFULNESS

Manila and Capiz, Philippines, 1942-1943

Christmas 1942 arrived quietly at the UST camp, and everyone found their own unique way of celebrating the arrival of the baby Jesus, savior of all humanity.

Freddie listened to the Executive Committee’s long debates about whether there should be any visible signs of celebration at all. They argued about whether Christmas was a religious celebration or simply an American tradition the internees had the constitutional right to acknowledge.

The EC couldn’t come to an agreement about it, so they decided to celebrate... but in a very low-key way. The internees pooled their resources and managed to decorate their rooms in subtle ways to honor this special event. Drawings and paintings of Christmas trees with gifts and of Santa Claus above the rooftops were allowed to be displayed within a living area.

Tokyo didn’t support religious celebration of any sort. Linc had shared a story during an EC meeting about a priest who’d been bayoneted at the altar because he’d refused to stop mass for the Japanese soldiers who’d entered during communion. This had happened in Iloilo, according to Linc’s sources.

Chairman Woody had approached Number Two to get permission to hold a Christmas drawing contest among the children. Number Two had checked with the Commander, who had okayed the contest, as long as the drawings weren’t religious.

So... no religious drawings of Joseph, Mary and the baby Jesus. With the 1939 arrival of the song, “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” popular among the Americans, there were many drawings entered which featured the most famous reindeer of them all.

The winning drawing of Rudolph cavorting high above the buildings of UST received a basket of vegetables for the 10-year-old winner’s family.

Other contests were held for the most inventive Christmas tree design, using any medium and any materials. The winning tree had been patched together from nipa palm leaves and decorated with ornaments collaged together from magazines and newspaper pictures. A quilt made of old clothes patterned with a Christmas tree design won second place.

It had been made by the Quilting Club, comprised of eight women and three men. By the time the Quilting Club members had shared their winning basket of lumpia from Lumpia Heaven among themselves, they ended up with two each, with the woman who had designed and architectured the pattern receiving three extra lumpias for her artistic vision.

Freddie was asked to write an article for the “Internews” inspiring its readers to sustain good will among all fellow men. Freddie was careful not to exclude the Japanese in this good will... he reasoned that to simply say “all fellow men” suggested enough leeway to include the Japanese since they were after all, fellow men.

Lucing had assured Freddie that the Captain read each and every volume of the internee newspaper, so he thought it wise to semi-suggest that the internees wished good will to the Japanese as well as all the other people representing all the other countries in camp.

With caution and subdued celebration, Christmas 1942 passed without negative incident at UST Camp.

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