Roots & Wings | December 2020

From our family to yours

Words by Aimee Alado-Blake Image from Disney UK

When Disney released in early November its Christmas advert for 2020 -From Our Family to Yours, it spread like wildfire all over the world not only amongst the Filipino communities but transcended peoples and cultures.

It speaks of universal and relevant themes of tradition, of family togetherness and nostalgia. It resonates with almost everyone as we remain restricted from spending Christmas in the usual way with family and friends due to the ongoing pandemic.

The 3-minute short film animation features Filipino culture and tradition backed by the vocals of English singer-songwriter Sarah Faith Griffiths aka Griff with her original song entitled ‘Love is a Compass.’

The clip tells of a powerful story between a grandmother – Lola, in Filipino language and her granddaughter. It began in the 1940s Christmas in a Philippine village, showing Lola as a kid running towards her Tatay or father outside the streets of their house adorned by sparkling parols or lanterns.

After she made mano to her Tatay, she received as gift a Mickey Mouse stuffed toy. Mano is an endearing gesture of respect for one’s elders traditionally practised by Filipinos to this day.

Fast forward to 2005s Christmas in the United Kingdom, Lola is showing the Mickey Mouse toy to her granddaughter and a parol kit, teaching her how to make one. This was a tradition between Lola and her granddaughter all those years until one day, the granddaughter, now a teenager, has outgrown the tradition. She preferred hanging out with friends rather than spending time to make parol with Lola.

Then coming home from a night out with friends, the granddaughter saw the discarded Mickey Mouse on the floor with an ear ripped off. As she picked it up in an unlit room, her gaze was suddenly fixated on the pictures of her family through the generations. She took the picture frame of Lola as a kid holding the toy, and suddenly came memories of special moments together.

Lola woke up the next morning and while descending the stairs, her face and eyes lit up with joy and marveled at the parols that her granddaughter made. It transported her back to the village seeing all the parols literally filling the whole house.

The final moment shows the granddaughter giving Lola a gift box containing the original toy with mended ear. The lyrics of the song as reproduced below,

“Moments, they’ve been everything And just like magic, can make the whole world sing That look in your eyes, oh, the joy it brings When I hold you and you hold me I know we’re not, not what we used to be But we carry so much history Put up my sails and I rode the wind That led me here to you, I’d do it all again I know it won’t always be the same Feelings don’t change, they never fade away When you’re far from home, it’s hard to know the way But it’s right there inside … And just like a compass That leads the way We may take the long road But I’ll never fade When you’re lost I will guide you Oh, tell me you’ll try to Remember on the darker days Love is a compass”

make a very compelling narrative that we are bound by tradition through the generations and act like a compass (of love) that will always bring us home to family, no matter what. And at least for now, when the uncertainties of the pandemic prevent us from being together and create moments of memory, ‘Love is a Compass,’ does guide us back to valued family and traditions.

MERRY CHRISTMAS from our family to yours!