The Wolf

It fills me with great pain that on the death anniversary of Jose Rizal, Filipinos on Twitter are greeting everyone a “Happy Rizal Day.” And it has spread so much that it is now the number trending topic for the Philippines.

Several of these “greeters” told me that they are celebrating his heroism and what he’s done for the country. I told them that if that’s the case, then the greetings would have been more appropriate on Rizal’s birth date - June 19. And this year, the country did celebrate the hero’s 150th birthday.

Truly, how many Filipinos, particularly the younger ones, felt about this day is proof of how far detached we are from our own history and national hero. We have become ignorant even of our own past. And the blame does not fall on the Spanish colonial authorities or the Americans who came after them. Or even the Japanese. The blame falls squarely on ourselves. We have become so lazy to study even our own history.

To greet people “Happy Rizal Day” is reflective of the mood of the Spanish crowd at Rizal’s execution when they shouted “Viva España! Muerte a los Traidores!” It’s the same as saying Happy Ninoy Day on the date of Ninoy Aquino’s assassination.

December 30 is Rizal’s death anniversary. You don’t go around celebrating on the death anniversary of friends and family do you?