Christmas in the Philippines

By Kin Enriquez -



The celebration of Christmas in the Philippines, to put it mildly, is a big affair. Officially the season starts on December 16, when the daily traditional simbang gabi (or dawn mass) is first held, culminating on an evening mass on Christmas eve. People though, start decorating and playing carols when the -ber months hit. It is not uncommon to see Christmas decor together with Halloween stuff at the end of October. Decors are put everywhere, and are not taken down until the Feast of the Epiphany.

Christmas tree made with numerous parol

The most iconic of these decors and symbols is the parol, a star-shaped lantern hung in the windows of homes and in the trees. Traditionally the parol is made of a bamboo frame and colored paper, although the modern versions use cellophane and are lighted from within. I remember my dad used to create one, a large parol to adorn our porch.

Another Christmas icon that is commonly seen in the Philippines is the Belen.  It is the Filipino version of the Nativity Scene, which depicts the birth of Jesus Christ in the manger, usually showing Jesus, Mary, Joseph and the Magi. It may also include farm animals, angels and the star. The Filipino version is usually made with local materials, such as using rice straws or nipa to make the thatch roof of the manger.


Jamon and keso (queso) de bola
Food is the centerpiece of the celebration, and no Filipino Christmas celebration will be complete without jamon (ham) and keso de bola (Edam cheese ball). The the two mainstays are served on the Christmas eve feast , called Noche Buena, which is usually partaken after the midnight mass attended by the family. Other elaborate Filipino dishes are prepared for the meal, including paella Valenciana, morcon (stuffed beef roll), and relleno, chicken or fish filled with stuffing. Cooking the dishes is a family activity, and at home I am usually the one who prepares the jamon. 

 On Christmas day kids would go to their grandparents, relatives and ninongs and ninangs (godfathers and godmothers) to pay respect and collect their gifts. And where guests go, food follows, and another feast is usually served for them. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Golden Tara of Agusan

By Kin Enriquez -
Image
One of the main reasons why I am always drawn to museums when I travel is that I would want to see, in real life, the fascinating things that I've only read in books or have seen in the films, such as archaeological artifacts or the paintings of Van Gogh and Dali . Museums give you access to all that. I majored in History when I was an undergraduate in the University of the Philippines. As such, I am always excited to see artifacts and historical curiosities that I encounter during my travels. But sometimes, they also make me sad, like when I saw the Golden Tara of Agusan in the Field Museum in Chicago.  The reverse of the Golden Tara The Golden Tara is a gold statue of a Hindu-Malayan deity discovered in 1917 in Esperanza, Agusan del Sur, in southern Philippines. Weighing about four pounds, the 21-karat gold statue depicts a woman deity sitting cross-legged, ornamented with a headdress and various accruements in the arms and legs. It was dated to early 13
Read more

Off the Beaten Track: Mapun, Tawi-Tawi

By Kin Enriquez -
Image
Guest post by Mara Ione Sarail Mapun? Where is that?” I get this question a lot when people ask me about my hometown. I’d ramble on and on the island (its location and the culture and the pretty spots...) but since the place is not really in any of the Philippines tourist spots and is in the middle of nowhere, I might as well talk about Atlantis instead. But the island does exist.  Mapun Tawi-Tawi or Cagayan de Sulu) is an island municipality in the Sulu Sea on the southwestern extreme of the Philippines, located very close to Sabah. Or from the way I see it on the Philippine map, the island is located on the Philippine’s “armpit”. Mapun is a volcanic island. The picture above shows Mt. Nanggoy, an inactive volcano near the Sapah Lake. The most popular tourist attraction in Mapun would be the three crater lakes on the west part of the island. Legend says that the three lakes were once volcanoes that erupted together. The first two, Danao and Singuwang, becam
Read more

How To Track Your Travels with Google Location History

By Kin Enriquez -
Image
Ever traveled to a place then forgot the name of that small shop that sells the best tasting cronuts you've ever had? Or have you ever wanted to retrace your steps in your travels, down to the smallest alleyways you passed along the way but couldn't? Here's a travel tool that enables you to do that - so well that it's cool and scary at the same time: the Google Location History. I use the service - which you need to enable on your mobile phone and Google account - to look back at my travels and generate some cool maps that retrace my steps during my trips. Google Maps, by itself, is an incredibly useful app already; I cannot count how many times I've used it when traveling to find my hostel, the nearest subway station, that cronut place. Having location history enable, made it cooler and more useful. Take a look at these examples: The top photo shows my movements around Singapore during my trip there in September, It basically showed my movements in t
Read more