We’re now halfway through September, and it’s already beginning to look a lot like Christmas!
As Filipinos, our love for Christmas is incomparable. It is the longest and grandest holiday for all of us, and we just can’t wait to celebrate it from September to December, popularly known as the "Ber" months.
At this time of year, we get the warm sensation of reminiscing about a heap of happy memories and experiences. This sense of nostalgia we get helps us rediscover the enchantment Christmas has. It takes us back to a time when life was simpler.
As we celebrate Christmas this year, let us relive the thrills that this festive season has!
๐ ๐ข๐ ๐๐ก๐ง๐ข๐จ๐ฆ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ฌ ๐ฅ๐๐จ๐ก๐๐ข๐ก๐ฆ
It has been a tradition for us Filipinos to be together with our families in celebration of Christmas.
Having these reunions enhances our familial bonds, provides relaxation, makes us catch up on everyone's significant events, and offers opportunities for our younger and older family members to learn family history [1].
As Filipinos, Christmas holds great importance in our hearts. Even if life is busy, we find ways to make sure that we’ll be home to celebrate it with our loving families.
‘๐ฆ๐๐ ๐๐๐ก๐ ๐๐๐๐’ ๐ฆ๐๐๐ก๐๐ฆ ๐๐ก๐ ๐ฆ๐๐๐ก๐๐ฅ๐๐๐ฆ
Churches filled with the warmth of devoted people and illuminated with gleaming star lanterns—these are some of the wonderful things that we’ll feel and witness when we attend the ๐๐ช๐ฎ๐ฃ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ ๐๐ข๐ฃ๐ช.
Given that we are a Christian nation, where Catholicism predominates, ๐๐ช๐ฎ๐ฃ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ ๐๐ข๐ฃ๐ช, also known as ๐๐ช๐ด๐ข ๐ฅ๐ฆ ๐๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐ฐ, has become a Christmas tradition in which Filipino Catholics make an effort to get up, usually as early as four in the morning, from December 16 to 24, to attend the novena masses and pray to God [2].
It is a spiritual preparation for Christmas, commemorating Jesus Christ's birth, and a way to request blessings from the Lord, with many believing that completing the nine dawn masses grants wishes [3].
๐๐๐ฆ๐ง๐๐ฉ๐ ๐๐๐ฅ๐ข๐๐ฆ ๐๐ก๐ ๐ ๐จ๐ฆ๐๐
As soon as the "Ber” months arrive, most of us Filipinos start playing Mariah Carey Christmas songs and, of course, the songs of our very own Filipino Christmas icon, Jose Mari Chan.
What’s even more exciting is hearing their songs from kid and adult carolers in front of our houses then saying, "๐๐ข๐ฎ๐ข๐ฎ๐ข๐ด๐ฌ๐ฐ ๐ฑ๐ฐ!"
Starting on the 16th of December and ending on the 25th, it is a tradition for us to carol door to door, singing Christmas songs with the accompaniment of improvised handmade instruments made out of used tin cans and flattened metal bottle caps, in hopes of receiving an "๐ข๐จ๐ถ๐ช๐ฏ๐ข๐ญ๐ฅ๐ฐ" of candy or money in exchange [4].
๐๐๐๐๐๐ง๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ฆ
Amidst the season of Christmas, either on the busy streets or in fancy restaurants, we'll surely see lots of delicious Filipino delicacies displayed, waiting to be devoured.
But still, the most delish delicacies that we can find are those that came from our homes—cooked with love by our own family, especially our mothers.
When it’s time to have a feast for ๐๐ฐ๐ค๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ถ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ข, a few of the mouthwatering delicacies they prepare on our tables are ๐๐ฆ๐ด๐ฐ ๐ฅ๐ฆ ๐๐ฐ๐ญ๐ข, ๐๐ฆ๐ค๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐๐ข๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ฌ, and ๐๐ถ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ช๐ข.
When it comes to desserts, they don’t skimp too with cold treats like ๐๐ข๐ญ๐ฐ-๐๐ข๐ญ๐ฐ and ๐๐ถ๐ฌ๐ฐ ๐๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ข๐ฏ, as well as with sweet snacks like ๐๐ถ๐ต๐ฐ, ๐๐ถ๐ต๐ด๐ช๐ฏ๐ต๐ข, and ๐๐ถ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ, which we refer to as "๐ฎ๐จ๐ข ๐ฌ๐ข๐ฌ๐ข๐ฏ๐ช๐ฏ."
๐๐ซ๐๐๐๐ก๐๐๐ก๐ ๐ฃ๐ฅ๐๐๐๐ข๐จ๐ฆ ๐๐๐๐ง๐ฆ
Christmas is the season of giving. So, to every ๐ฏ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐จ and ๐ฏ๐ช๐ฏ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ out there, be ready!
Nothing beats the intense and exciting feeling we get from unwrapping the gifts of our loved ones. It has this element of surprise and mysteriousness that we just love encountering as we slowly peel the wrappers open.
Gift-giving has been an essential part of our culture since it’s a way for us to show love, appreciation, and honor relationships, as well as demonstrate our generosity—whether it be between our family members or close friends [5].
๐ช๐ข๐ช-๐ช๐ข๐ฅ๐ง๐๐ฌ ๐๐๐ฅ๐๐ฆ๐ง๐ ๐๐ฆ ๐๐๐๐ข๐ฅ๐๐ง๐๐ข๐ก๐ฆ
Right on the very first day of September, we can already witness colorful decorations from the floors to the ceilings of every Filipino household.
At this time, seeing various Christmas trees and Christmas lights displayed in almost every corner is such a sparkle to our eyes, but what makes our eyes sparkle brighter is seeing our very own ornamental lanterns, called ๐ฑ๐ข๐ณ๐ฐ๐ญ, hanging and shining.
A ๐ฑ๐ข๐ณ๐ฐ๐ญ symbolizes the Filipino Christmas spirit, represents our unifying faith and hope, and signifies the triumph of light over darkness [6].
๐๐ข๐๐๐๐๐ฌ ๐ ๐ข๐ฉ๐๐๐ฆ
To all of us movie lovers, there's no doubt that we feel more "Christmasy" when festive movies start showing on our televisions and in cinemas
Classic world-famous movies like ๐๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐๐ญ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ (1990), ๐๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ณ๐ช๐ฏ๐ค๐ฉ ๐๐ต๐ฐ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐๐ฉ๐ณ๐ช๐ด๐ต๐ฎ๐ข๐ด (2000), and ๐๐ถ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ญ๐ฑ๐ฉ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ฆ๐ฅ-๐๐ฐ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐๐ฆ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ณ (1964) have made every Christmas season of our lives more magical and imaginative.
In our country, we have an annual film festival called Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF), which takes place from December 25th until January 7th of the next year.
Many Filipinos gather at cinemas during this timeframe to watch some of their loved actors and actresses, like Coco Martin and Vice Ganda, who both star outstandingly in every movie entry they have for this film festival.
Beyond the aforementioned reasons, there are definitely more reasons for thrills and excitement this Christmas. This season is so full of good things that we can’t almost enumerate them one by one.
Let us just cherish every single second of this holiday season and make sure to have precious experiences and memories to keep for life and look back on.
REFERENCES:
[1] Shutterfly Community. (2019). Everything you need to know about family reunions. https://www.shutterfly.com/ideas/family-reunion/#Why%20Should%20You%20Have%20A%20Family%20Reunion
[2] Pateรฑa, A. J. (2018, December 14). Simbang Gabi: An enduring Filipino Christmas tradition. Philippine News Agency. https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1056699
[3] Del Rosario, M. (2022, September 19). Simbang Gabi: A brief explanation of the Filipino Christmas tradition. Holidappy . https://holidappy.com/holidays/Filipino-Christmas-Tradition-Simbang-Gabi
[4] Villanueva, M. D. (2022, November 13). Namamasko po! Looking back at the history of Christmas caroling in the Philippines. Village Pipol. https://villagepipol.com/looking-back-at-the-history-of-christmas-caroling-in-the-philippines/
[5] Bernardino, E. (2022, December 23). Gift giving: Showcasing Filipino Christmas traditions. Housing Interactive. https://housinginteractive.com.ph/blog/gift-giving-in-filipino-traditions/#:~:text=Giving%20gifts%20for%20Christmas%20in,another%20popular%20Filipino%20Christmas%20tradition.
[6] Villanueva, M. D. (2022, September 1). A symbol of Filipino Christmas: Looking back at the history of Parol. Village Pipol. https://villagepipol.com/a-symbol-of-filipino-christmas-looking-back-at-the-history-of-parol/
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