Culture

As far as I can remember Christmas season in the Philippines is the most awaited celebration for young and old alike. It is the most festive, the longest, and the most memorable. The season is an endless series of merrymaking, of  Christmas parties in homes,  schools, public and private offices. It is also a time for family reunions as  Filipinos living abroad usually come home to spend the Christmas holidays in the country.

Growing old is tough. If one is sick, it is even tougher not only for the ill and ageing senior but for the supporting family as well. But respect and care for the elderly is paramount in Philippine culture and a nursing home is not always the solution.  Elders are considered key members of the family, a source of wisdom and Filipino values that must be passed on to the next generation.

In the Philippines, All Souls Day is now called "Undás" (don’t know why), "Todos los Santos" (Spanish for "All Saints"), and "Araw ng mga Patay / Yumao" (Tagalog for "Day of the Dead”) which incorporates All Saints Day and All Souls Day. It is celebrated on November 1st. Undas is probably colloquial for Undras which means “to honor” in Spanish.  

Smoke from the last firecrackers of New Year’s eve still lingers in the air when preparations for festivals and fiestas in the Philippines start getting underway. In Manila a 9-day novena to the Black Nazarene, enshrined in the Quiapo church in Manila, whose feast day is in early January actually starts on January 1st.  

It is an integral part of the cultural values of the Filipinos to take care, honor and protect their elders.  In general, grandparents and sometimes great grandparents constitute part of the Filipino nuclear families.

(This is sponsored content by Heritage Gardens Cemetery.) 
November 1^st or All Saints Day is a Christian holiday to honour all the saints. For Catholics, it’s a holiday of obligation.  For Filipinos, it is a holiday to commemorate all their family members and friends who have passed away. It is a red letter day on the calendar which means there is no school or work on this day.

Filipinos celebrate the longest Christmas season in the world.

 It starts on September 1, when the months of year begin to end in ‘ber’, as in Decem’ber’, and lasts until the Feast of the Three Kings on January 6 the following year.

When I was growing up in the Philippines, our family did not have a Christmas tree during the holidays.

What we always had on our windows were home-made brightly lit star-shape Christmas lanterns called parol from the Spanish word for lamp, farol.

“Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful.” Norman Vincent Peale

 Filipinos love to celebrate fiestas or festivals.

Named after the Philippine national hero, Jose Rizal, Sentro Rizal (Rizal Centre) was established by Republic Act 10066 or the National Cultural Heritage Act of 2009 to promote Philippine arts, culture and language around the world.