A Philippino Christmas!

Celebrating the holidays in the Philippines was a unique and unforgettable experience! I have never been away from home for Christmas, but I decided if I had to be on the other side of the world, the Philippines was the best place for me!

When I first arrived, it didn't really feel like the Christmas season at all. I think the lack of snow/extremely warm weather threw me off. But there were lot's of lights and decorations, and the Christmas music playing everywhere got me in the Christmas spirit. I have decided that there are 3 important components to a Philippino Christmas. First, the firecrackers. Loud firecrackers... everywhere... constantly! The first time (or maybe the first twenty times) I heard one go off, I thought someone had been shot, they are really that loud and can be set off as close as a few feet from you. Second, the Christmas caroling. Philippino's love to sing! Carolers, generally children, will show up outside your door singing as early as December 16th and this continues until New Years. The tradition is that the home will give the carolers money or sweets. Because of this, by December 18th most people try to hide from the carolers. It's quite funny! Third, the food! I thought there was a lot of food at home at Christmas time... not like this. In the days leading up to Christmas and even following, there was food everywhere, at least 2-3 whole pigs being roasted over a fire in my barangay (village) every single day!

Gifts are not really a part of the Christmas tradition here, or at least not to the extent that they are at home. I think this is mostly just because people cannot afford it. Instead the focus is mainly religious and most Philippinos are very catholic. There are morning masses at 4am every day starting on the 16th right up until Christmas. I actually did attend one of these masses, because my nanay (homestay mom) was in charge of organizing it and had asked me to come. The mass is all in local dialect, which makes staying awake during it at 4am quite a difficult task. There is also a "midnight mass" on Christmas Eve at the big St. Nino Church in downtown Tacloban city. I went with a group of friends. The church was PACKED and even outside there were masses of people. The service ends exactly at midnight when everyone begins to excitedly tell each other "Merry Christmas"!!

My Christmas day itself was quite similar to at home. I spent the day with family and friends, eating, drinking and watching "The Grinch". Myself and the 3 other volunteers that were around did a secret Santa. New Years was also similar to home in that there was a lot of partying. I started out celebrating with friends and family on my street and later went to the "gym" (sort of like the village community centre) that had been turned into a big dance party! It was a fantastic night!