Christmas display to light up San Juan City Hall

THE city government of San Juan will launch on November 22 its annual Christmas- on- Display (COD) show at the city hall.

To make the occasion more special, some 300 children from the city’s daycare centers will be invited to watch the inaugural presentation. The attraction will be open to the public from November 23 until January 6, 2019.

“Hosting this event is a way for the local government to spread the holiday cheer. We can be grateful for our respective families for staying together,” Mayor Guia Gomez said.

“We also want to express our gratitude to our constituents as we look forward to next year,” she added.

The COD display started out more than 60 years ago as a gimmick by Alex Rosario to draw customers to the family- owned department store, Manila COD ( Cash on Delivery) on Avenida Rizal in Manila. After nearly 40 years at Araneta Center, the COD animatronic display transferred to the Greenhills Shopping Center, which hosted the attraction for over a decade before it was discontinued in 2016 to give way to development in the area.

“We’d like to continue a beloved tradition that many Filipinos had looked forward to for more than a decade of Christmases by staging the COD show right on our grounds,” Gomez said.

The mayor had sought out the Rosarios, the family that created the COD show in 1957, to bring the decades- old holiday attraction to the City Hall.

“When I look at the display, I cannot help but feel nostalgic and hopeful about Christmas. It is a feeling I want to share with our people when they stroll at the City Hall grounds this holiday season,” the mayor said.

Themed the COD display highlights well- loved Filipino Christmas traditions that include family reunions with sumptuous feasts, Christmas carols, colorful lanterns, a variety of merrymaking activities and a fervent prayer.

The grand display also features some of the city’s iconic landmarks such as the Pinaglabanan Church.

The city government will also open a night market that will feature over a hundred stalls for shopping and dining.

“When we were conceptualizing the display, we wanted something that will make families go out and visit so they can be together for the holidays,” Gomez said.

“I’m certain that even our balikbayans will enjoy the display, and perhaps wax nostalgic about celebrating Christmas here in the Philippines,” the mayor added.