Cebu Island Stay: Is December Really That Busy?

My 85-year-old mother lives a life without any changes.
Yesterday and today, last month and this month, and probably last year and this year.
I suppose that is what a retired person is like.

When December comes, my mother says, "I feel like I'm being rushed, and it's bothering me. I feel so flustered."

Son (me): "What are you being rushed by?"
Mother: "I don't know, it's not anything in particular..."
Son (me): "Is there something you have to do before the end of the year?"
Mother: "There's nothing like that at all."

Well, that makes sense. There hasn't been any change between last month and this month.
If I had to name a reason, it would just be because it's December (Shiwasu).

When I looked up the meaning of 'Shiwasu' (the traditional Japanese name for December):

So what if it's December?
Monks might be busy, but retired people shouldn't be, right?

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The foreign-owned company I used to work for had a December fiscal year-end, and many employees took long vacations in December. I was no exception, taking at least 15 days off, and in busy years, as many as 25 days. By combining Christmas holidays, year-end and New Year holidays, and paid leave, I was able to enjoy a vacation.

The secret to being able to take time off lies in the company's evaluation system.
In the case of Japanese companies, there seems to be a bad habit of continuing to push for results right up to the very end of the fiscal year or the end of the year without cutting any corners.

At the company where I worked, sales performance was evaluated from January to November, and December was excluded from the evaluation period. The behavioral evaluation for headquarters staff managers like me was based on January to October, and November and December did not matter.

With this evaluation system, it meant I didn't have to work in December. That's why it was easy to take long vacations. One of the reasons for this was the evaluation period.

This means that October is busy. The flow is that November and December are mainly spent creating the budget and planning for the following year, and once that is completed, you go on a long vacation.

Isn't the work style of pushing hard until the very end of the fiscal year in December just a result of the consequences of not doing what should have been done by then piling up all at once at the end of the year?

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I think it's questionable that my mother is convinced she's busy just because it's December, but when I see people who, without even understanding their own behavioral patterns, get swept up by news and keep repeating, "It's December, so I'm busy, I'm busy," I feel like that is very Japanese.

Why do people do a big cleaning in December? Even though it's cold.
Isn't it because they only clean once a year?
Well, it doesn't really matter, though.

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And so, I am spending the winter on the island of eternal summer, Cebu. I first visited Cebu in December 2014, and except for the COVID period, I have spent every winter in Cebu.

Here on Cebu Island, I don't get the feeling that December is busy. Perhaps because of the warm climate of this southern island, everything flows slowly. The physical speed is slow, and the speed of thought is slow as well.

Things rarely go according to plan, and I have never heard of construction work proceeding smoothly. Delays are not measured in days, but in months or even years. Besides, no one gets angry, so it's quite laid-back.

Even on such a southern island, things get hectic just for Christmas on December 25th. There is absolutely no such thing as delaying a Christmas party. It is the biggest event of the year, after all.

As it is a Catholic country, the number of visits to church increases significantly in December, and there are parties every week. Christmas preparations begin as soon as December starts, which is an amazing display of initiative for Filipinos who are otherwise not known for their planning.

Now, comparing Japan and the Philippines, the busyness of December in Japan seems to be about being rushed by something or clearing away things that must be done. The busyness of Filipinos in December is positive, proactive, and seems fun. In the first place, they don't seem to feel busy at all.

Japan is passive and filled with a sense of pathos
The Philippines is active and filled with a sense of optimism

I suppose it's just the national character.

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