AN official of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) discouraged the faithful from the “ber-month” celebration of Christmas.
In an interview with Church-run Radyo Veritas, CBCP Vice President and Caloocan Bishop Pablo David lamented how the “commercialization” of the religious holiday has led to its “celebration” from September to December or the “ber-months.”
Several companies usually take advantage of the “ber-month” trend by launching their Christmas-themed promos and ad as early as September, earning the country the reputation of having world’s longest Christmas season.
“This is not right and it has nothing to do with the Liturgical Calendar of the Catholic Church. It is not encouraged by the Catholic Church,” David said.
Christmas, he insists, should only be commemorated with the start of the advent in December and not as some people “celebrate” it as early September.
Advent is the four-week preparation of the Catholic Church before the celebration of Christmas or the birth of Jesus Christ commemorated every December 25.
“Let us not give in to the commercialization of Christmas…Christmas is not a commercial celebration,” David said.