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| The "ber" months are just about the entire span of the Christmas season in the Philippines. |
...You start greeting and being greeted a "Merry Christmas" or "Maligayang Pasko" right at the start of the "ber" months (read: SEPTEMBER).
...An inexplicable feeling of joy surges you whenever you hear Christmas songs being played on the radio or when you see shops putting up holiday decorations before December.
...Your biggest Christmas wish as a child is a snowy Christmas in the Philippines, and, honestly, you still kinda (secretly) wish for it today .
...You pour a lot of effort in putting up a Christmas tree in your home, even though felled evergreens have very little or no chance at all of survival in our country. Sometimes, it's also a great way to let your creative juices flow.
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| The spirit of Christmas is very much alive in Hernani, Eastern Samar even after Typhoon Haiyan devastated the province. Photo from GMA News |
...You pour a lot of effort in putting up a Christmas tree in your home, even though felled evergreens have very little or no chance at all of survival in our country. Sometimes, it's also a great way to let your creative juices flow.
...You wish you're still young enough to get "aginaldo"s and "regalo"s (money and gifts) from your ninongs and ninangs (god parents), because you're the ninong/ninang now, and you just can't keep track of your inaanaks (god children) anymore, never mind stressing about what to give them.
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| It is tradition among young Filipinos, especially for those in the lower to middle classes, to go house-to-house around the neighbourhood and sing Filipino Christmas carols to earn some money. |
...Your Filipino Christmas playlist will never be complete without "Kumukutikutitap", "Pasko Na, Sinta Ko", "Christmas in Our Hearts", and "Sana Ngayong Pasko" ♫
...Your leisure time/work time at home is interrupted a couple of times a night just to give some spare change to the li'l carolers outside - either because you were a caroler yourself when you were younger and you hated "barat" neighbours OR you like what they sang and how they sang it. But most of the time, you just want them to shut up, so you can go back to whatever you're doing. Admit it!
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| Catholic Filipinos gathered outside a church just int time for simbang gabi |
...You wake up hours earlier than usual to attend the simbang gabi - a series of masses held in nine consecutive evenings/early mornings starting on the 16th of December and ends on Christmas Eve (Misa de Gallo). If you get to complete all 9 masses, you get to make a special wish on the last night :)
...Simbang gabi is also synonymous to soul mate-hunting. (OK, this is just an observation, as I'm really against this idea, because I like keeping the sanctity of Eucharistic celebrations. Teenagers today... Sheesh! :D)
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| The ideal breakfast after attending the simbang gabi: puto bumbong and bibingka |
...You can't wait to get your bibingka (rice cake) and puto bumbong (another rice cake that's purple in colour and cooked in a bamboo tube) fix after the simbang gabi. Brush an extra layer of butter and sprinkle some more sugar there, please. Yum!
...You just can't stop admiring those beautiful parols you pass by, and you make sure you have one (or a few more) for your house.
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| One of the well-loved Christmas food in the Philippines is hamon. |
...You HAVE to HAVE hamon and queso de bola - among others - for your noche buena.
...You've got a handful of Christmas parties you need to attend - just because.
...You're more concerned about who picked your name and what he/she will give you for the annual family/class/office exchange gift/kris kringle/secret Santa more than what you'll be giving your "monito"/"monita".
...You know that Christmas isn't over until the Three Kings, a celebration held on the first Sunday after the first of January.
***I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THE PHOTOS USED FOR THIS POST.
♥Andz
...You've got a handful of Christmas parties you need to attend - just because.
...You're more concerned about who picked your name and what he/she will give you for the annual family/class/office exchange gift/kris kringle/secret Santa more than what you'll be giving your "monito"/"monita".
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| The feast of the Three Kings marks the end of the four-month-long Christmas season in the Philippines. |
...You know that Christmas isn't over until the Three Kings, a celebration held on the first Sunday after the first of January.
***I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THE PHOTOS USED FOR THIS POST.
♥Andz
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