The Cost of 12 Days of Christmas In Ibaan

The Cost of 12 Days of Christmas In Ibaan
By Taga Ibaan Ako

Christmas. The best time of the year when everyone gives love, joy and happiness. Music is everywhere, and not a house would fail to play any Christmas song at any given day during the season. And one of the most popular songs that we have is “The Twelve Days of Christmas” which basically speaks of and enumerates the gifts given.

The song was so popular that almost every country in the world has their own versions. The lyrics or the gifts given were altered based on what are available in the country for easier adaption of the listeners. And of course, Philippines didn’t come last to create their way of gift giving as inspired by this song. Thus, we have “12 Days Of Pinoy Krismas” popularized by the group Apo Hiking Society (http://bit.ly/f4FqgC). It was well-loved by the Filipinos since the gifts mentioned in the song are readily available anywhere in the country. Here are the lyrics of the song:

Sa unang araw ng Pasko, binigay sa ‘kin ng nobya ko
Isang basketbol na bago

Sa pangalawang araw ng Pasko, binigay sa ‘kin ng nobya ko
Dalawang payong at isang basketbol na bago

Sa pangatlong araw ng Pasko, binigay sa ‘kin ng nobya ko
Tatlong sakong bigas, dalawang payong at isang basketbol na bago

Pang-apat na araw ng Pasko, binigay sa ‘kin ng nobya ko
Apat na pagong, tatlong sakong bigas
Dalawang payong at isang basketbol na bago

Ika-limang araw ng Pasko, binigay sa ‘kin ng nobya ko
Limang pulang lobo, apat na pagong, tatlong sakong bigas
Dalawang payong at isang basketbol na bago

INTERLUDE

Ika-limang araw ng Pasko, binigay sa ‘kin ng nobya ko
Anim na sofa, limang pulang lobo, apat na pagong
Tatlong sakong bigas, dalawang payong at isang basketbol na bago

Ika-pitong araw ng Pasko, binigay sa ‘kin ng nobya ko
Pitong berdeng unan, anim na sofa, limang pulang lobo, apat na pagong
Tatlong sakong bigas, dalawang payong at isang basketbol na bago

Ika-walong araw ng Pasko, binigay sa ‘kin ng nobya ko
Walong lechong baboy, pitong berdeng unan, anim na sofa
Limang pulang lobo, apat na pagong, tatlong sakong bigas
Dalawang payong at isang basketbol na bago

Ika-siyam na araw ng Pasko, binigay sa ‘kin ng nobya ko
Siyam na case ng beer, walong lechong baboy, pitong berdeng unan
Anim na sofa, limang pulang lobo, apat na pagong
Tatlong sakong bigas, dalawang payong at isang basketbol na bago

Ika-sampung araw ng Pasko, binigay sa ‘kin ng nobya ko
Sampung inaanak (mano, po ninong), siyam na case ng beer
Walong lechong baboy, pitong berdeng unan
Anim na sofa, limang pulang lobo, apat na pagong
Tatlong sakong bigas, dalawang payong at isang basketbol na bago

Ika-labing-isang araw ng Pasko, binigay sa ‘kin ng nobya ko
Labing-isang tuta (aw! aw!), sampung inaanak (mano, po ninong)
Siyam na case ng beer, walong lechong baboy, pitong berdeng unan
Anim na sofa, limang pulang lobo, apat na pagong
Tatlong sakong bigas, dalawang payong at isang basketbol na bago

Ika-labing-isang araw ng Pasko, binigay sa ‘kin ng nobya ko
Labing-isang tuta (aw! aw!), sampung inaanak (mano, po ninong)
Siyam na case ng beer, walong lechong baboy, pitong berdeng unan
Anim na sofa, limang pulang lobo (bayan!), apat na pagong
Tatlong sakong bigas, dalawang payong at isang basketbol na bago

Ika-labin-dalawang araw ng Pasko, binigay sa ‘kin ng nobya ko
Labin-dalawang parol, labing-isang tuta (aw! aw!)
Sampung inaanak (merry Christmas!), siyam na case ng beer
Walong lechong baboy, pitong berdeng unan
Anim na sofa, limang pulang lobo (ay, apat na lang!), apat na pagong
Tatlong sakong bigas, dalawang payong at isang basketbol na bago.

Based on the song, we have number of gifts given during the 12 days of Pinoy Kristmas. The gifts include:

1 basketball na bago
2 payong
3 sakong bigas
4 pagong
5 pulang lobo
6 sofa
7 berdeng unan
8 lechong baboy
9 case na beer
10 inaanak
11 tuta, and
12 parol

If you intend to give all of these, much do you think it will cost you? In 2009, based on US version of the song, the gifts would cost you $87,403.00 (http://on.msnbc.com/hVJiYt), and $96,824.19, with $9,421.19 (http://bit.ly/hJflRb) increase for 2010 based on price index. Anyway, that’s in US. But since we’re in Ibaan, let’s make our computations based on what we have around here. We’ll have the cheapest and the most decent price we could find so as not to give our Ninongs ang Ninang a shock. The same thing goes with you who are thinking of completing these gifts.

Now let’s do the computation.

Every guy in town wants to be a basketball player. Although it’s a long shot for majority of Ibaenos, they never stop believing. Maybe the same reason why Ibaan got two basketball courts -with the hope of bringing the best out of them. And along with it, no doubt basket ball is well-loved. Common basket ball used include Mikasa and Molten. An authentic and original version of them would cost around P800 to P1,000.00. That’s a big one. But just for the sake of having one, we can settle for an imitation that can be picked up at only P150.00. This is not bad since it can still be thrown and banged on the hoop. And we only need one. That’s settled.

The proliferation of Chinese products in the country didn’t spare Ibaan. Moving around town, you can find a lot of them. And with the erratic weather condition that we have and as a result of climate change, umbrella as gift will be highly appreciated. For our purpose, we’ll have the least cost umbrella at P50.00. There are two of them in the song, so that’s P100.00.

Rice. Everyone’s basic need. A variety of them, like Dinorado, Sinandomeng and others, are available in the market. Let’s have Sinandomeng, at least to stay in the middle. A sack of Sinandomeng rice can be fetched at P1,250 these days. We’re supposed to give three (3) sacks. Computing, that’s P3,750.00.

There’s hardly a pet shop in Ibaan. If there’s any, aquarium fish is all you can find there, not to mention the dog cages and pellets. We’re in search for turtles (pagong) and our basket must have 4 of them. A medium sized one is sold at P200.00. Like what I’ve said, four is all we need. So at P200.00, that’s P800.00. And yes, balloons. We need five (5). With different designs and variations, we can have one balloon at P10.00; P50.00 to be exact for five of them.

There’s a new furniture shop in Ibaan –in front of Shell gasoline station. Looking around, I found couple of sofa sets. Again, they are of varied designs at varied prices. A decent sofa set is tagged at P25,000.00. Although there’s this set at P18,000.00, we’re looking for a set with foam. So I decided to take P25,000.00 sofa set. In the song, we’re supposed to give six (6). At that number, it’s P150,000.00.

At the cold of the night, it will be perfectly comforting to have pillows around bed. Pillows can work best when you’re missing someone. You can have them on your bed, between your legs, lean or lay back on them –or even tear them apart when hate someone. That’s rude anyway. Let’s have pillows on our cart first. Depending on the size, content and cover of the pillow, price can be at different price level. I picked up the square one, including the green cover. Pillow and pillow case cost already around P150.00 –P85 for pillow and P65.00 for the cover. We need seven, multiplied with P150.00, we have to pay P1,050.00.

Brgy. Bago takes pride with Perez Lechon in their place. For so many years, its lechong baboy has graced hundreds of Ibaenos’ tables for thousands of occasions. This Christmas season, lechon is again a star. But before we can have them on our plates, let’s see how much they cost. An under 15 kilo crispy lechong baboy is pegged at P3,500.00. Above 15kg, say 25kg, will probably cost P5,000.00. We don’t need that much, then let’s settle for P3,500.00. And for eight (8) of them, that’s P28,000.00. Whew, the family clan will enjoy this.

Before, there’s Pale Pilsen, Beer na Beer, Gold Eagle Beer and, of course, the all time favorite bilog na ginebra. Then we got Budweiser, San Mig Light, Super Dry, Colt 45 and others. In Ibaan, a thoroughbred beer is most preferred. Thus, we’ll have Red Horse Beer as gift. To count, 48 bottles or 9 cases should be loaded on an ELF truck for delivery. Don’t forget to pay P3,150.00 at P350.00 each.

Ten (10) inaanak! Your girlfriend/boyfriend must really be popular to have that much. Now if you have the new three Aquinos bill in your pocket, you must have two of them and cut them into ten. That will afford you to give P100.00 to each of them. That’s a decent amount of money to give already; assuming they’re all aged 10 and below. Hopefully they’re at that age range. If not, your ATM card must be within your reach to make them smile. But we’re trying to cut the cost here. One thousand pesos will be fine for ten inaanak. That should give you a breather.

Last year, my niece’s suitor gave her a tuta or puppy for Christmas gift. The puppy looks good. I actually love it. I even thought it has some breed on its blood. But as it grows, it turned out to become an askal one –or should I say a regular one. But it still looks good. Then last November, I bought a regular dog from the neighborhood for P250.00. Well, if you really want to make an impression, a chow-chow puppy will be fine; at P3,500.00 maybe. But let’s stick to the plan. Let’s keep a tight budget here. A regular tuta should be enough to make other people smile, but choose a good one. Ok? Then it’s going to be P250.00. Count eleven (11) puppies and be ready to shell out P2,750.00. Don’t bother about the cages, they’re not mentioned in the song.

Finally, we’re almost done completing our Christmas gifts. Of all those gifts that we’ve mentioned, the Christmas symbol takes center stage. And it’s no other than the Parol itself. Don’t worry, giant Parol in Pampanga will never be an option and will not be included. They actually cost around P500,000.00! No way Josei! Anyway, not a picture of them can be found in Ibaan. For this, a P25.00 parol might do the trick. But make sure first that the house of the person to whom you’re to give them has enough windows to hang them since we’re to give 12 parols. And at 12, that’s around P300.00 at P25.00 each.

Take a break first with a bottle of soda at one of the sofa’s we’ve bought. We’ll go over with the amount of money we’ve drained out of our account to complete the gifts. Let me sum them up for you.

1 basketball na bago, P150.00; 2 payong, P100.00; 3 sakong bigas, P3,750.00; 4 pagong, P800.00; 5 pulang lobo, P50.00; 6 sofa, P150,000.00; 7 berdeng unan, P1,050.00; 8 lechong baboy, P28,000.00; 9 case na beer, P3,050.00; 10 inaanak, P1,000.00; 11 tuta, P2,750.00; and 12 parol, P300.00. And the total cost? A whooping and hefty P191,000.00! This is one crazy money to puke about this Christmas.

So, are you still up to complete those gifts in 12 days of Christmas? Correct me with this. You can make your own computation

(Some images courtesy of Yahoo Image Search)


Side Story:

History of the song “Twelve Days of Christmas” History

"The Twelve Days of Christmas" is an English Christmas carol that enumerates a series of increasingly grand gifts given on each of the twelve days of Christmas. Although first published in England in 1780, textual evidence may indicate the song is French in origin. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 68.
Origin

The twelve days in the song are the twelve days starting Christmas day, or in some traditions, the day after Christmas (December 26) (Boxing Day or St. Stephen's Day, as being the feast day of St. Stephen Protomartyr) to the day before Epiphany, or the Feast of the Epiphany (January 6, or the Twelfth Day). Twelfth Night is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as "the evening of the fifth of January, preceding Twelfth Day, the eve of the Epiphany, formerly the last day of the Christmas festivities and observed as a time of merrymaking."

Although the specific origins of the chant are not known, it possibly began as a Twelfth Night "memories-and-forfeits" game, in which a leader recited a verse, each of the players repeated the verse, the leader added another verse, and so on until one of the players made a mistake, with the player who erred having to pay a penalty, such as offering up a kiss or a sweet. This is how the game is offered up in its earliest known printed version, in the children's book Mirth without Mischief (c. 1780) published in England, which 100 years later Lady Gomme, a collector of folktales and rhymes, described playing every Twelfth Day night before eating mince pies and twelfth cake.

The song was imported to the United States in 1910 by Emily Brown, of the Downer Teacher's College in Milwaukee, WI, who had encountered the song in an English music store sometime before. She needed the song for the school Christmas pageant, an annual extravaganza that she was known for organizing.

Music origin

The earliest well-known version of the music of the song was recorded by English scholar James O. Halliwell in 1842, and he published a version in 4th edition The Nursery Rhymes of England (1846), collected principally from 'oral tradition'. In the early 20th century, English composer Frederic Austin wrote an arrangement in which he added his melody from "Five gold rings" onwards, which has since become standard. The copyright to this arrangement was registered in 1909 and is still active by its owners, Novello & Co. Limited (http://bit.ly/gDsGEg).