Another Saint's Name for Childermas?

It is through the courtesy of my association with my beloved Celia, that I have a granddaughter in the Philippines, or at least a little girl who calls me "Lolo" (pronounced "LOW-low," Tagalog for "Grandpa").

Scarlett is seven years old today. As is obvious to anyone who knows the family, she takes after her mother, a professional model of national renown in her younger days, gracing teen magazine covers and all that sort of thing. Indeed, our little one has been choosing her own wardrobe on a daily basis since before she was three. She is also precocious, whimsical, and occasionally likes to pick on her nine-year-old brother Luic (pronounced "loo-EEK," a Filipino variant of the Spanish "Luis"), who is very protective towards her just the same.

This little one and I share a birthday, apart by exactly sixty years. But why the name "Scarlett"?

In the Philippines, children are often traditionally named for the saint on or near whose feast day they are born. Today is the feast of the Holy Innocents. This may have called for improvisation by her resourceful parents.

The name "Scarlett" is reminiscent of the color of the blood of the little infant boys, martyred on the order of King Herod in an attempt to eradicate the threat that a newborn King might pose to his rule. Having been raised to the altar of sainthood with their sacrifice, our little princess enjoys the patronage of a throng of special little angels to protect her, much as her older brother would do, at times in spite of her boldness.

At the end of the day, she is adorable, just like her mother, not to mention her grandmother. What's more, our little one certainly loves her Lolo, as can be seen in this video from New Year's Eve two years ago (at the family home in Malabon City, Metro Manila), given her fear of the sudden noise of fireworks.