What if Mary, Joseph lived in the Philippines?

During Mass last night, a thought crossed my mind: what if Mary and Joseph were in the Philippines at the time Jesus was born? How would they journey through a country that celebrates Christmas longer than anywhere else in the world?

If the Holy Family arrived in modern-day Manila, their journey would not begin in a quiet desert, but amid the scorching heat and deafening chaos of Christmas rush hour along EDSA.

Joseph would likely be a construction worker, hands rough with calluses, face etched with worry, navigating a city of uncertainty with little to no money in his pockets.

Mary, meanwhile, might be a factory worker whose contract ended just as her belly began to grow, carrying not only a child but also the weight of judgment placed on teenage mothers. She would have been around 16 at the time she conceived Jesus, bearing both hope and stigma in equal measure.

The couple would knock on doors seeking help, not necessarily driven away, but met with hesitation. People would want to help, yet many families themselves live in cramped spaces, burdened by their own struggles.

When it comes time for the birth, there would be only two choices: a packed public hospital that still takes them in despite overworked and underpaid staff, or a makeshift bed of cardboard beneath a concrete flyover, illuminated by the flickering glow of giant LED billboards.

Beyond the sparkling lights and decorations of the season, the true spirit of Christmas is often found among those pushed to the city’s margins, reminding us that hope can still be born in the most crowded and ignored corners of the metro.

Other people’s fireworks would serve as their guiding light, much like the Star of Bethlehem once did.

And the Three Kings? No politician would step out of an SUV or luxury car to bring gifts to the newborn Jesus. That would be beyond branding.

Instead, the Three Kings might be a motorcycle taxi rider who stopped because something felt wrong, a security guard who noticed the couple from afar and recognized their exhaustion, or a market vendor who had extra supplies and chose to give them away.

Christmas, after all, has always arrived quietly, carried by ordinary people who decide to care.