“Maligayang Pasko!” (mah-lee-guy-ang pahs-ko) This is the Tagalog translation of “Merry Christmas.” The holiday season is upon us so I thought it would be fitting for this week’s blog post to be about Filipino Christmas traditions.
A popular tradition among the children in the Philippines is caroling. They form little groups within their neighborhoods and go from house to house singing traditional Filipino carols as well as well-known American ones like Jingle Bells. Having grown up here in America, I never actually experienced this myself, but I know a few things from the countless stories my dad likes to tell. He said that since many of these children come from poor families, they use recycled material to make instruments for their caroling. Flattened bottle caps strung onto a wire serve as a tambourine. Plastic tightly secured over a coffee can becomes a drum. Not only do the children enjoy making the instruments, but there’s also the added bonus of gaining some money. Often times, the owners of a house will give caroling children a few extra pesos in keeping with the Christmas spirit.
A cultural symbol that I can relate to a little more personally is the Parol (pah-Rol). Aside from regular Christmas lights, Filipinos like to display these large, multicolored, star-shaped lanterns around their house. Made with a bamboo frame and plastic filament, these lanterns are the most cherished Christmas decoration in the Philippines. My parents brought 2 of them home after one of our visits now we proudly hang them in our windows every Christmas season.
http://365greatpinoystuff.wordpress.com/2010/12/15/349-parol/
Finally, there’s the Simbang Gabi (sim-Bung ga-Bee) which loosely translated means “night mass” or “night worship.” This tradition involves a novena, or a series of 9 masses. These masses occur each day, starting from December 16 and continuing until Christmas Eve. They occur around 3:00 or 4:00 am, hence the term “night mass.” This is the tradition in the Philippines, but here in America, my Filipino community consolidates this into a Friday evening mass. I suppose it’s because there aren’t any specifically Filipino churches in the area that would cater to this custom. Though we don’t have the novena, we still celebrate with a potluck dinner after word, because it’s not a Filipino gathering until there’s food.
Ha ha this is so interesting to learn about different traditions! Also, those lanterns are beautiful! Thanks so much for sharing your wonderful traditions with us, and have happy holidays!
Yes, people do have Christmas trees in the Philippines, but they’re not as common as here in America because not everyone can afford one.
The picture of the parol is awesome. I love seeing how other cultures celebrate holidays.
I think the parol is really pretty and festive. Do people also have Christmas trees in the Phillippines?
I would defnitetly fall asleep during a 3:00am mass, especially if I had to go nine nights in a row! That’s dedication.