City Christmas lighting thrills, other onlookers pout

Christmas in Maasin City officially opened with the awaited lighting ceremony, although many houses and villages had a month ago lit their colorful Christmas lights, Christmas trees and have hanged parols.
The ceremonial celebration of lighting at the Anatalio Gaviola Plaza last December 6 was attended by hundreds of Maasinhons and those from neighboring towns. Many people flocked to the poblacion for this activity such that, as related by some residents, the local mcdo eateries ran out of barbecues.
The event was highlighted by the dazzling dancing fireworks together with the simultaneous lighting of the entire plaza. People from all ages, children to seniors, were amazed by the entertaining scene.
In the middle of the fireworks display the lights in the park suddenly went off that some people thought that this was part of the drama. However, this was reportedly due to the low electric voltage. It took an hour for the lights to be restored. Despite the long wait, people enjoyed taking photos and videos.
While some people praised the celebration, some others were dismayed after some photos circulated on social media, which went viral, showing no social distancing. Some of them complained saying, “Ngano man ug ingon ini nga aktibidad dili man mag limit ang anaa sa pang-gobyerno, basta lang kay naay facemask. Samtang ang Simbahan limitahan?” To which another person said, “Let us move on. Maasin City is Covid-free and the Philippines is omicron-free. Get yourself vaccinated for you to enjoy the yuletide season.” One other netizen said, “We are slowly recovering, pero mag amping lang jud ghapon. Spread love.”
Recently, Maasin City was tagged as Zero-case and Covid-free, same also with Baybay City and Ormoc City in Eastern Visayas.
The ceremonial lighting was graced by local government employees of Maasin City led by Mayor Nacional Mercado, Provincial Governor Damian Mercado, Vice-Governor Christopherson Yap, and local officials.
Maasin City Assistant Tourism Officer Dainty Galing urges the public to maintain minimum health protocols. The city plaza is open to the public and the festive lights were turned on at 6 o’clock in the evening.