Manila:It's that time of year again when jokes about Christmas bonuses not only make the rounds in office corridors but also spill over onto social media. From videos of people hilariously queuing at ATMs to payday glow-up posts and witty "now-you-see-it, now-you-don't-bonus" memes, Filipinos always find ways to laugh about their long-awaited extra paycheck.
According to Philippines News Agency, Aleta Amador, who teaches popular culture at Bicol University (BU), believes these jokes are not devoid of substance. In fact, some of them can even serve as satire to draw attention to workers' economic struggles. The familiar meme of an employee celebrating the arrival of a Christmas bonus, only to see it disappear within days because of bills and debts, highlights shared economic experiences that many Filipinos recognize in their everyday lives.
"Employees only get a brief respite from financial hardship once a year, hence the Christmas bonus is something they eagerly anticipate," Amador explained. However, she noted that for many, the bonus is already allocated for everyday necessities even before it arrives. Such jokes make the painful reality a little easier to bear, allowing employees to laugh about the financial pressures they commonly face.
Referencing Mikhail Bakhtin's concept of the "carnivalesque," Amador described how Christmas bonus jokes become spaces for "inversion," a temporary reversal of power relations and social hierarchies. These jokes allow those with less power to challenge or make fun of those in authority, offering a humorous way to express frustrations and expose uncomfortable truths.
Melanie Golosinda, chair of the Filipino department at BU, echoed this sentiment, noting that Christmas bonus jokes can be a form of social criticism. Filipinos, known for their sense of humor, often use joking as a way to lighten their emotional burden despite hardships. Humor functions as a means for them to express solidarity, reclaim a sense of agency, and assert collective power, given their limited capacity to directly subvert the system.
However, not every Christmas bonus joke is satirical in nature. Some are simply comic exaggerations meant to elicit laughter. During this season, Filipino employees often turn to Aegis and their hit song to voice their plea "Kaya't ibigay n'yo na ang aming Christmas bonus!" ["So give us our Christmas bonus!"]. In a country where "parinig," the practice of sending indirect messages through hints, jokes, or remarks, is common, expect the song to be the unofficial anthem of the season.
