Celebrating a Filipino Christmas

Proud to be Pinoy!

As Filipinos, we are well-known around the globe for being very accommodating especially to tourists and as being cheerful  people. Mix that with the merriest holiday of the year, Christmas, it would surely blow you off with glee!

Philippines was known for celebrating Christmas as early as the start of the –ber months which is September and ends on early January the following year. Believe it or not, Filipinos celebrates the world’s longest Christmas season.  It’s actually funny to see Christmas decors and toys on the malls being seen together with the ghoul masks as early as September for celebrating All Souls Day of November 2.

CHRISTMAS DECORS

Speaking of which, the holiday wouldn’t be complete of course without the Christmas decorations for setting off the holiday mood such as the parol. It is a lantern made of bamboo sticks shaped as a star covered with colorful thin sheets papers lighted up from its inside. It was actually inspired from the bright star which guided the 3 wise men to the stable where Jesus was born.

The belen is famously seen as well on this season. It is the Nativity scene of Jesus on a manger complete with the 3 wise men, angels, Mary and Joseph, the shepherds, stable animals and the bright star of course.

CAROLS

Christmas carols were already played on radios and on malls as well as early as that. I’m glad I was able to experience going from one house to another singing Christmas carols, which is karoling in tagalog when I was a kid. We would then sneak off to a perya afterwards, which is a small carnival party famous as well during this season. I was actually the one always carrying the improvised tambourines which were actually just aluminum bottle caps strung in a wire. Our drum sets, tambol, were actually made of big round plastic containers topped with a stretched market plastics by an elastic band (goma). See? Filipinos are very creative. These instruments makes decent sounds too!

Today, it was a bit modernized. Carolers now carries portable guitars, amplifiers, mic and even a portable piano! And there are fewer kids who goes pangangaroling.

FOODS

And who would ever forget the very tasty holiday foods and bestsellers of this season? Bibingka and Puto bumbong!

My all time favorite is of course is the bibingka. It is a round rice cakes on a banana leaf made from rice flour topped with carabao cheese, and grated coconut. I specially liked it served hot with lots of salted egg  (pulang itlog) topped off with melting butter! Mmmm…. Yummy! You can compare it to a hotcakes or pancakes with lots of toppings.

On the other hand, puto bumbong is a purple rice cakes steamed in bamboo cylinders and topped of with grated coconut as well and brown sugar.

These two rice cakes are best served with a hot chocolate.

Speaking of food toppings, topping all of these is the time Filipinos spend with their families on this once in a year celebration. Balikbayans are pouring out of the airports and bus terminals just to be able to spend time with their loved ones. Truly, this season is magical…