Christmas Day arrives on Saipan

Ten-year-old Rita said she did not receive as many gifts than she had expected. Her smile, however, remained evident as she spent the day with friends by a Garapan beach and considered the day joyful.

As young as she is, Rita said she would save the money she got, apparently aware of the hard times the Commonwealth is experiencing nowadays.

One of her friends, 9-year-old Vannesa, said she enjoyed Christmas Day playing with friends. “Fine,” Vannesa instantly replied when asked how her Christmas was. “It’s very fun!”

While many residents and visitors celebrated Christmas Day feasting on buffet tables in local hotels and restaurants, some simply stayed home and just let the day pass by. Others greeted Christmas Day at work.

Manong, a security guard manning posh townhouses in Chalan Kiya, said he came here to Saipan to work. He said he has always been on duty every Christmas Day since he came to the island more than 10 years ago.

However, another security guard, Benz Pineda, said he was practically penniless since he lost his job sometime in 2003. He said the labor case he has initiated against his former employer remains pending.

“Of all my Christmases, this time, it’s really zero. I’m really kissing the ground,” Pineda said.

He spent the day with friends at a Garapan pavilion, where he joined a simple celebration with barbecue and beer. “With friends, I feel somewhat relieved from my problems. I hope 2006 will be better.”

Even business executive Ronnie Doca said he could feel the crunch following the pullout of Japan Airlines’ regular flights to Saipan last October. The operations manager of Pan Express Cargo said business has been declining following the carrier’s pullout.

“It’s worse than last year. If you have money nowadays, you really have to save it than spend it,” Doca said.

Doca, however, found contentment in a modest celebration of Christmas with friends. “We’re happy. There’s no power outage at home and that’s better.”

Jimmy Cruz, a 48-year-old water technician at Crystal Water, said he greeted Christmas with friends at a San Jose restaurant. When he went home in Papago, he said the lights were on, unlike the situation on Tuesday and Friday, when he experienced a power outage.

The Commonwealth Utilities Corp. has assured that there would be no power interruption in the CNMI during the holidays, but the beleaguered utility firm continues to scramble for money to sustain fuel supply at its power supply to avert power load shedding that it resorted to last Tuesday and Wednesday.

Devotees and Christians trooped to churches in a solemn commemoration of the birth of Jesus Christ. In his Christmas message, Bishop Tomas A. Camacho urged Christians to pray “during this season of joy and peace.”

“We need to be reminded of our biblical roots during this season of Christmas. It is one way for us to focus, to pray, and to meditate—the kind of recollection and internal preparation that our Holy Father encourages us to do.”