"When Christmas Made Me Sad, Jack Skellington Made Me Smile."

"When Christmas Made Me Sad, Jack Skellington Made Me Smile."

By:

Virgilio F. De Leon Jr.MD

I was pleasantly surprised earlier today to discover someone who loves The Nightmare Before Christmas as much as I do, and, more importantly, for exactly the same reason.

For a long time, the Christmas season was not particularly happy for me. In fact, I used to feel rather depressed during the holidays, although I could never quite explain why.

I can trace this feeling back to 1993, when I first watched The Nightmare Before Christmas after its release. I remember thinking how wonderful it was to see a stop-motion animated film with such an unusual visual style, an incredible musical score, and characters that were instantly memorable.

But there was something else about that movie that I couldn't quite explain.

It lifted my spirits more than any Christmas carol, exchange gift, or holiday party ever could.

That might sound strange, considering that this was a movie about Halloween creatures trying to understand Christmas. Yet somehow, Jack Skellington and his peculiar little world brought me a kind of happiness that the traditional holiday celebrations couldn't.

Things eventually changed when I met my wife in 2002. Life became different, and the holidays gradually became something I could genuinely look forward to.

But the years before that were not particularly easy.

I could be surrounded by family, friends, gifts, and all the festivities of the season and still feel lonely. It wasn't something I showed outwardly, either. Perhaps that was part of the problem.

I had become accustomed to playing certain roles. I was the dutiful son, the leader of this and that, the dependable one, the strong one. I was the person people could count on, the one who was expected to remain stable regardless of what was happening around him.

And somewhere beneath all those responsibilities was someone who could feel terribly sad during a season when practically everyone else seemed to be celebrating.

Perhaps I simply didn't know how to express that feeling. Or perhaps I had become so accustomed to being the dependable person that I never really allowed myself to acknowledge that I wasn't always doing well.

Thankfully, those years are mostly behind me now.

Still, I find it interesting that a movie about a skeleton who accidentally discovers Christmas became such an important part of my own holiday memories.

Maybe Jack Skellington appealed to me because he was also someone trying to find happiness somewhere he didn't quite belong. He was surrounded by people, celebrations, and familiar traditions, yet he was searching for something more.

Or perhaps I just really liked the songs. There is always that possibility.

Either way, I am grateful that I found someone who understands why this particular movie means so much to me.

And with the peso hovering around ₱64 to the dollar and the prices of practically everything continuing to climb, I suspect I might need to revisit Halloween Town for a little emotional support this Christmas.

After all, traditional Christmas cheer can be rather expensive these days.

Jack Skellington, on the other hand, is always available on screen.

And somehow, even after all these years, he still makes me smile.