Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed most commonly on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around people.
The Philippines is the only country in the entire world that celebrates Christmas season the longest. At the beginning of September, you'll start hearing Christmas carols being played on the radio on shopping malls.
The holiday season extends beyond December 31st. It doesn't end until the Feast of the Epiphany or Three Kings (Tatlong Hari) which falls around January 6.
Filipino Christmas traditions are very much entwined with religious symbolisms and rituals.
1. Simbang Gabi
*It literally means "Night Worship." Filipinos begin a novena, a series of 9 masses on December 16. The masses are part of the cherished religious tradition of Simbang Gabi. People go to church at 4 o'clock in the morning then have a breakfast together with salabat, a traditional drink and bibingka, a thick yellow rice cake. Teens are the most who attend the Simbang Gabi. Unfortunately, most teens attend just to get together with friends. The real meaning of simbang gabi is lost through the years.
2. Putting up a Parol
*Parol is a Christmas lantern, most commonly in the shape of a five-pointed star. Its bamboo or rattan frame is covered with rice paper, tissue or cellophane. Shopping malls construct giant versions of parol. A candle was placed inside for light to shine through; for safety reasons, people use bulbs. Families, schools and other places also display a crèche or nativity scene called belen.
3. Monito Monita
*Filipinos have a special word for "Christmas gift" -- pamasko. The Filipino version of Secret Santa is called Monito Monita or Kris Kringle. Students, office workers, co-workers all hold gift exchanges during Christmas season and Christmas practice at least 2-3 weeks before Christmas itself. During these parties, it is always part of the festivities to exchange gifts.
4. Godparent's Aguinaldo
*Children receive fresh bills of money called aginaldo when they visit their godparents and elderly relatives on Christmas morning. Unfortunately for children of today, godparents tend to forget about aginaldo already. It is slowly disappearing since everybody tends to get busy on Christmas.
5. Panunuluyan
On Christmas Eve (Bisperas ng Pasko), a few Filipino towns commemorate Joseph and Mary’s search for a place to stay with a reenactment called panunuluyan, a tradition very similar to the Mexicanposadas. But in the pastyears, lesser and lesser panunuluyan’s are being shown as lesser people attend.
6. Noche Buena
*It is the grand family dinner after the midnight mass. Christmas morning is the time for visiting relatives. Filipinos wear new if not their best clothes. Children do mano, which is kissing or bringing to their forehead the hand of an elderly person. This is when they receive their pamasko, certainly aginaldo from godfathers and godmothers. Christmas lunch and Christmas dinner are with family. But since more and more Filipinos go abroad to work, families are often incomplete during Christmas. Others don’t even celebrate anymore, just a simple dinner does it.
Now, it is sad to see that these wonderful traditions are slowly disappearing.
Source: Viral4Real
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