of christmas articles and the hope of a very happy new year…

hi mga fans… sori at nde ako nkapagblog for a long time… believe it or not, sobrang busy ako ngyn… ayoko ng ganito… sana matapos na ang taon… gusto ko ulat ng fresh start… again… nde na tlga ako ngsawa sa kakahingi ng fresh start n yan… hehe… actually nde ako mka2gwa ng normal blog… wla ako sa mood e… hehe… pero below is the christmas article i wrote for the newsletter sa project nmn… take note… ito yung project wide newsletter nmn…. pati onshore mkakabasa nito… so ibig sabihin, ung blog ko, international na…hehe

b4 d article, gusto ko lng sabihin na hopefully, mas marami kayong mabasa sa aking blog… nde lang about personal stuff and opinions, pati ung mga unpublished ideas na nsa utak ko p lng… sna maiayos ko na at maisulat ko na ng mganda pra maenjoy nyo rin…

the article is about how we filipinos celebrate Christmas (click the link)… its meant to show our onshore counterparts the difference between the celebration of their “holidays” to our “Christ”mas… so to all of you reading my blog, gusto ko kayong batiin ng maligayong pasko at isang napakagandang bagong taon para sa ating lahat… God bless us all… l8r dayz…

Christmas like no other

Christmas time is just around the corner. But for Filipinos, it started earlier. A lot earlier.

In the Philippines, we celebrate Christmas season the longest. We should be getting a world record for this. We start as soon as the “BER” months hit. And it usually ends by mid-January. Some even extend it up to Valentine’s Day. That’s 6 months of non-stop Christmas fun.

The first 3 months are usually for preparation. Then December comes and the Christmas frenzy comes into full swing. People start to decorate their houses with Christmas lights and others with the usual Christmas decors. Here, we put up lanterns in front of our houses. But not your ordinary lanterns but a star shaped lantern which we Filipinos like to call “Parol”. It is to symbolize the star of Bethlehem, the star that led the wise men and the sheperds to the manger the baby Jesus was born. We make these Parol’s as big and as colorful as possible. We even have one province which takes pride in creating these masterpieces and have a parade showing them, much like the Macy’s parade but with the lanterns instead of floats.

As the actual day nears, the anticipation grows as well. Children (and some adults too) go from house to house and sing Christmas carols. Nine days before Christmas day, we have a tradition called “Simbang Gabi”. People go to church to celebrate a mass early in the morning. Tradition states that if you attend all nine masses, you get to have a Christmas wish come true. After these masses, people often stop at the kiosks near churches which offer a Filipino delicacy only available during Christmas season: the puto bumbong.

Then before you know it, it’s Christmas Eve. Here, we stay up late and have our yearly Noche Buena (Spanish for good night). We prepare delicious food and when the clock strikes twelve, the whole family eats together. After that, the children (and again, some adults too) get to open their presents. And on Christmas day, the gift giving continues. Families go to the houses of their relatives to spend some time with them during Christmas.

But what sets how we celebrate our Christmas apart from others isn’t with the length or the different traditions. For us, what is more important is why we celebrate Christmas. The star shaped lanterns, the gift giving, the dawn masses; they’re just there to commemorate the birth of the Savior, Jesus Christ. Here, Christmas is Jesus’ birthday party. And that is why we celebrate it happier than the usual. And longer as well.