i was transported back to my youth watching the traditional animated christmas display at the greenhills shopping center in san juan city, philippines.
this show was originally conceived by alex rosario, sr. to attract shoppers into his department store called COD ("cash on delivery") in manila 51 years ago. this free holiday spectacle easily became a hit with people that he continued doing this until he transferred his store to its more popular location in cubao's araneta center.
many a filipino child (myself included) remembers trooping to cubao on a cold december night (some even came from the provinces) to watch this 15-minute display of moving mannequins set in themes that either change or occasionally recur every year.
my family would ride in our jeepney and park in front of COD for this show. sometimes they would feature the nativity story, sometimes the barrio fiesta in which a boy goes up a bamboo pole to reach the prize on top.
the COD department store may long be gone in its familiar spot in cubao, but the tradition lives on for new generations, and hopefully, for more to come. the christmas show now has a new home at the greenhills shopping center, where people can conveniently do their christmas shopping (at their christmas "night market") and haggle for the final price after watching the show.
exempli gratia, hello kitty items for the hello kitty lover in the family:
or imitation havaianas flipflops:
here are a couple snippets of the show from this year which features a horse-drawn carriage ("calesa") and a musical band playing a christmas song. the theme was environmental and even used the voice of a beauty pageant winner (whose accent annoyed me).
this show was originally conceived by alex rosario, sr. to attract shoppers into his department store called COD ("cash on delivery") in manila 51 years ago. this free holiday spectacle easily became a hit with people that he continued doing this until he transferred his store to its more popular location in cubao's araneta center.
many a filipino child (myself included) remembers trooping to cubao on a cold december night (some even came from the provinces) to watch this 15-minute display of moving mannequins set in themes that either change or occasionally recur every year.
my family would ride in our jeepney and park in front of COD for this show. sometimes they would feature the nativity story, sometimes the barrio fiesta in which a boy goes up a bamboo pole to reach the prize on top.
the COD department store may long be gone in its familiar spot in cubao, but the tradition lives on for new generations, and hopefully, for more to come. the christmas show now has a new home at the greenhills shopping center, where people can conveniently do their christmas shopping (at their christmas "night market") and haggle for the final price after watching the show.
exempli gratia, hello kitty items for the hello kitty lover in the family:
i bought scarves to bring back with me to new jersey. my mom and sister bought handbags.
here are a couple snippets of the show from this year which features a horse-drawn carriage ("calesa") and a musical band playing a christmas song. the theme was environmental and even used the voice of a beauty pageant winner (whose accent annoyed me).
to read more about the COD christmas show, click on this inquirer story.
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3 vandalized my wall:
this is also part of my youth and always, it conjures good beautiful childhood memories. I haven't this for awhile though and i'm quite happy to see this again;) merry christmas!!
wow we used to watch this too when we wer kids waaa buti ka pa nakapunta jan ako nd ko pa uli nakikita yan
thanks sa postcards i love em :)
have a merry christmas and happy new year!sti
merry christmas FF and enjoy your holiday.
p.s. miss having that show too coz when i was younger, we had a similar showcase in one of our department stores here but sadly wala na ngayun yun.
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