The joy of early giving: Start a kindness project

It's a week before December and Christmas is in full bloom. It tiptoed in as early as September, humned through October, and by November it is fully alive—glowing in parols, whispering through Jose Mari Chan songs, and flickering on the edges of our busy days.

- PINKY CONCHA COLMENARES

We have become experts at preparing our hearts early. And nowhere is this more evident than in the culture of giving that blooms long before December.

November, in many ways, is the soft opening of Christmas. It is when people begin making lists—not of gifts to receive, but of people they hope to bless. This early generosity is one of the quietly beautiful things about the Filipino spirit. For many, the season is not measured by shopping bags or grand dinners, but by the opportunity to lighten someone else’s burden, if only by a little. A kind gesture here, a simple gift there, an envelope slipped discreetly to a security guard or a tricycle driver—these are the small sparks that slowly ignite the warmth of the season.

The long Christmas season gives us time not only to prepare our homes, but to prepare our intentions. And at the heart of these intentions is a uniquely Filipino tradition: bayanihan.