It"s Christmas! Can you feel it HERE? (Christmas in the Philippines)
It's Christmas! Can you feel it HERE?
(Christmas in the Philippines)
-by: Bernadette L. Chiu
PS2A
"Christmas is the time of loving and sharing something to others." - The most common statement heard from Filipinos when asked what Christmas is all about. It is so pleasing to hear but it also conveys a negative meaning subliminally. I believe we should love and share something to others even though we are not in the advent season. But, what is Christmas really all about?
Christmas is celebrated every 25th of December of the year. Moreover, it is considered the biggest holiday of the calendar. Also, Christmas season is the time believed by the Christians when Virgin Mary gave birth to the son of God named Jesus Christ when God sent the Holy Spirit and message through the Angel Gabriel.
Filipinos are known to be very religious for the reason that the Philippines is considered as one of the leading Christian countries globally. Thus, I can say that this nation has a distinctive way of celebrating Christmas. There are number of traditions and ways of how Christmas is celebrated in the Philippines in which these mores are uniquely found in our country.
First, the Philippines is known as the only country in the world that celebrates the advent season very long. Normally, when -ber months are about to begin, Filipinos start to put Christmas decorations in and out of their houses. The most famous and native is the parol which adds more beauty and life to the doors of their homes. Furthermore, Christmas carols and songs are being played for as early as September. Then this fruitful time of the year lasts up until Epiphany that usually falls on the 6th of January. Hence, Christmas of Filipinos is typically very long, particularly a 6-monthlong celebration.
Another distinctive tradition of Filipinos during advent is the Misa de Gallo or locally known as the Simbang gabi. Here, Filipino Christians wake up early in the morning to hear mass and to eat delicious puto bumbongs and bibingka afterwards. This Misa de Gallo is composed of 9 morning masses, in which Filipinos believe that if you have completed those nine, your wishes will somehow come true. This belief makes Filipinos go up from their comfortable couches to go to church in as early as 4:00 in the morning and complete the traditional Simbang gabi. In addition, some people attend the morning masses for the sake of worship, acquaintance, and just to eat the native delicacies.
One more famous Filipino Christmas activity is paghingi ng Aguinaldo or pangangaroling. Although it does not originally come from the Pilippines, pangangaroling was totally embraced by the Filipinos and it became part of the conventional doings during Christmas time. Almost every child had undergone this activity in their lives. I guess pangangaroling every Christmas time is already part of the childhood stage of a person. You would typically see children play tambourine made up of soft drink tanzans and hear them singing with wacky voices and wrong lyrics. Haha. Also, who would not know the famous "Sa may báhay ang áming báti: "Merry Christmas na maluwalháti!" Ang pag-íbig, pag siyàng naghári, Aràw-áraw ay mágiging Paskó lagí! Ang sanhî po ng pagparíto, Ay híhingi po ng áginaldo. Kung sakáli't kami'y perhuwísyo, pasensya na kayó't kamí'y namámasko!"? And the naughty "Thank you, thank you, ang babait ninyo, thank you" when you were given something by the owner of the house; and would change the lyrics into "Thank you, thank you, and babarat ninyo, thank you" if you were given nothing.
Those are just the most well-known among the many Filipino Christmas activities done specifically in this country. The others include: the Noche Buena that serves as an ultimate family bonding during Christmas Eve; Santa Claus which is not originally from the Philippines, yet creates a big impact on Filipino children; Christmas parties which has Kris Kringle, monitos and monitas to add twists in exchange gifts. Exchanging gifts has always been a part of Christmas holidays. It proves that Filipinos are really thoughtful and generous. It has been said that Philippines is a poor country in terms of financial aspects but when Christmas comes, it has been an ethic that Filipinos get to go malling to buy gifts for their loved-ones. Hence, despite of the financial problems we encounter, we still get to spend money for others and for Christmas sake.
Truly, Filipino culture is a very rich one. Moreover, traditional Christmas activities are also part of our culture, thus making the latter richer. Christmas is indeed the most wonderful time of the year. And in the Philippines, it is made MORE superb. Definitely, in as early as September, you can already feel the spirit of Christmas here that will last until early January and until all Christmas decorations have been removed.
I can say that overall, Christmas in the Philippines is really great. It is correlated with Jesus, Christians, family, and the society. Maybe here, we cannot experience a white Christmas but then again, I would still choose to celebrate the birth of our Jesus in this lovely country. However, the most important matter here is on how you can make everyday a Christmas day by doing constructive acts daily. In that way, we can be so good to others, then obtaining peace and harmony comes next. Let us all be positive and feel the spirit of Christmas everyday.
(Christmas in the Philippines)
-by: Bernadette L. Chiu
PS2A
"Christmas is the time of loving and sharing something to others." - The most common statement heard from Filipinos when asked what Christmas is all about. It is so pleasing to hear but it also conveys a negative meaning subliminally. I believe we should love and share something to others even though we are not in the advent season. But, what is Christmas really all about?
Christmas is celebrated every 25th of December of the year. Moreover, it is considered the biggest holiday of the calendar. Also, Christmas season is the time believed by the Christians when Virgin Mary gave birth to the son of God named Jesus Christ when God sent the Holy Spirit and message through the Angel Gabriel.
Filipinos are known to be very religious for the reason that the Philippines is considered as one of the leading Christian countries globally. Thus, I can say that this nation has a distinctive way of celebrating Christmas. There are number of traditions and ways of how Christmas is celebrated in the Philippines in which these mores are uniquely found in our country.
First, the Philippines is known as the only country in the world that celebrates the advent season very long. Normally, when -ber months are about to begin, Filipinos start to put Christmas decorations in and out of their houses. The most famous and native is the parol which adds more beauty and life to the doors of their homes. Furthermore, Christmas carols and songs are being played for as early as September. Then this fruitful time of the year lasts up until Epiphany that usually falls on the 6th of January. Hence, Christmas of Filipinos is typically very long, particularly a 6-monthlong celebration.
Another distinctive tradition of Filipinos during advent is the Misa de Gallo or locally known as the Simbang gabi. Here, Filipino Christians wake up early in the morning to hear mass and to eat delicious puto bumbongs and bibingka afterwards. This Misa de Gallo is composed of 9 morning masses, in which Filipinos believe that if you have completed those nine, your wishes will somehow come true. This belief makes Filipinos go up from their comfortable couches to go to church in as early as 4:00 in the morning and complete the traditional Simbang gabi. In addition, some people attend the morning masses for the sake of worship, acquaintance, and just to eat the native delicacies.
One more famous Filipino Christmas activity is paghingi ng Aguinaldo or pangangaroling. Although it does not originally come from the Pilippines, pangangaroling was totally embraced by the Filipinos and it became part of the conventional doings during Christmas time. Almost every child had undergone this activity in their lives. I guess pangangaroling every Christmas time is already part of the childhood stage of a person. You would typically see children play tambourine made up of soft drink tanzans and hear them singing with wacky voices and wrong lyrics. Haha. Also, who would not know the famous "Sa may báhay ang áming báti: "Merry Christmas na maluwalháti!" Ang pag-íbig, pag siyàng naghári, Aràw-áraw ay mágiging Paskó lagí! Ang sanhî po ng pagparíto, Ay híhingi po ng áginaldo. Kung sakáli't kami'y perhuwísyo, pasensya na kayó't kamí'y namámasko!"? And the naughty "Thank you, thank you, ang babait ninyo, thank you" when you were given something by the owner of the house; and would change the lyrics into "Thank you, thank you, and babarat ninyo, thank you" if you were given nothing.
Those are just the most well-known among the many Filipino Christmas activities done specifically in this country. The others include: the Noche Buena that serves as an ultimate family bonding during Christmas Eve; Santa Claus which is not originally from the Philippines, yet creates a big impact on Filipino children; Christmas parties which has Kris Kringle, monitos and monitas to add twists in exchange gifts. Exchanging gifts has always been a part of Christmas holidays. It proves that Filipinos are really thoughtful and generous. It has been said that Philippines is a poor country in terms of financial aspects but when Christmas comes, it has been an ethic that Filipinos get to go malling to buy gifts for their loved-ones. Hence, despite of the financial problems we encounter, we still get to spend money for others and for Christmas sake.
Truly, Filipino culture is a very rich one. Moreover, traditional Christmas activities are also part of our culture, thus making the latter richer. Christmas is indeed the most wonderful time of the year. And in the Philippines, it is made MORE superb. Definitely, in as early as September, you can already feel the spirit of Christmas here that will last until early January and until all Christmas decorations have been removed.
I can say that overall, Christmas in the Philippines is really great. It is correlated with Jesus, Christians, family, and the society. Maybe here, we cannot experience a white Christmas but then again, I would still choose to celebrate the birth of our Jesus in this lovely country. However, the most important matter here is on how you can make everyday a Christmas day by doing constructive acts daily. In that way, we can be so good to others, then obtaining peace and harmony comes next. Let us all be positive and feel the spirit of Christmas everyday.
