A close-up view of Hermila Lim’s miniature Christmas village houses. Carmel Loise Matus/INQUIRER VISAYAS
TAGBILARAN CITY – Hermila Lim started putting up her own Christmas village in Tagbilaran City three years ago, but it will be extra special for her this year.
Lim’s family survived the 7.2-magnitude earthquake that hit Bohol province on October 15. Although her house was spared, some of her miniature collections were broken.
Just two weeks after, Supertyphoon “Yolanda” (international name: Haiyan) pounded the Visayas, causing devastation to many areas, including Tacloban City where Lim’s eldest daughter, 42-year-old Haze, her husband Daniel and two of her grandchildren—Hannah Therese and Hans Daniel—live.
Hazel’s house in Barangay (village) Marasbaras was damaged but her family was safe.
Lim and her husband, Teofilo, 68, own one of the biggest liquified petroleum gas (LPG) dealership firms in Tagbilaran, along with their son Harvey, 38. Another son, Harry, 31, lives in Cebu City.
For Lim, 2013 is a year of thanksgiving to God because her family has survived two major disasters.
At first, she planned to put up the Christmas Village in a mall in Tagbilaran and even hired an architect to set it up. It did not push through because of the killer quake, she explained.
Lim also looks forward to seeing Hazel and her family in her house where they will spend Christmas. In the typhoon’s aftermath, her daughter’s family was able to leave Tacloban onboard a truck and rode a roll-on roll-off vessel from Ormoc City to Cebu City.
Lim began her Christmas Village project in 2008 for her own family at her house on M. Torralba Street. Her collection of miniature Christmas houses and objects has grown since.
Upon entering, a visitor immediately hears the song, “Deck the Halls,” and sees a garden decorated with small snowman figures.
The Christmas village at the main entrance is filled with trees of green and gold, colorful mini-shops, miniature skiers up and down the slopes, carnival rides, dancers twirling to a waltz inside a gazebo, skaters in the park, Santa Claus dancing and flying on sleighs, and a Christmas train running in circles.
Drinking glasses and place mats bear the Christmas motif, acquired during Lim’s travels with her husband to Israel, Australia, Hong Kong and China.
To date, her collection has 58 houses and 118 Santa Clauses.
Fascinated by St. Nicolas since childhood, Lim has adorned her house with Santa Claus images of different shades and shapes collected for the past 13 years—at the doorsteps and all over inside the place. These include a drunk Santa, a photographer Santa, a Santa Claus band, Santa in a parachute, singing and dancing Santas with reindeer and even a Tarzan Santa.
This year, Lim said she had introduced many renovations but emphasized that the project was still about family tradition and holiday celebration.
“It takes a lot of work to continue the Christmas Village,” she said, “but it gives me satisfaction because the essence of Christmas is the joy it brings to people.”
She said it was not hard for her to decide on opening her home to everybody who wants to see her collection. This is her way of celebrating Christmas despite the tragedies that have happened this year, she said.
“My Christmas wish? I hope that I will be given a long life,” Lim said.