Liana Romulo - Filipino Celebrations: A Treasury of Feasts and Festivals

Anyone who knows something about the Philippines can tell you that Filipinos love a good party, and that we celebrate many different kinds of occasionsharvest time, a babys first birthday, the incoming new year, historical events, and so on. Even the most solemn Roman Catholic holidays, like All Souls Day, are more like celebrations than formal rituals.

foreign influences

A lot of foreign influences impact our celebrations: We adopted many of Spains traditions and practices; most significant of all, Christianity. We follow some American practices, too, as well as many Chinese traditions. Perhaps our most cherished holiday of all is Christmas. A great many Filipinos, no matter where they live in the world, come home to be with their families for the season.

other important celebrations

Most other Philippine celebrations are also Christian, including Easter and barrio festivals honoring saints. Although barrio fiestas are further evidence of Spains influence, these gatherings also showcaseat its bestFilipino hospitality and community spirit. At fiesta time, guests (even tourists) are welcome to wander into any house in the barrio , where the hosts will feed and entertain them.

historical influences

Before the Spanish came, Arab missionaries had already introduced Islam to certain parts of the country, and a few hundred Chinese merchants and traders lived on the Islands. Today, some Filipinos (mostly in the south) observe Muslim festivals, such as the Prophet Mohammeds birth celebration.

Since early times, indigenous tribal Filipinos celebrated special occasions, like a babys birth or getting married. A shaman presided over the preparation of the thanksgiving gifts to be offered to the gods. Old tribal customs continued even after the Spanish arrived, but Catholic saints replaced native gods. If you wanted to become pregnant, for example, you prayed to Santa Clara instead of the native god of fertility. For healing the sick, Filipinos prayed to San Roque; and the rice god Lacanbaco became San Isidro Labrador.

When the Americans came to rule in 1901, they introduced their own festivals and celebrations. The Americans brought us beauty contests, like the Manila Carnival; they also taught us to sing the Happy Birthday Song and helped us create non-religious holidays, like Independence Day and Rizal Day.

There are a great variety of festivals in the Philippines, thereforea mix of local and foreign flavors, sights, and sounds. Though it can be hard to understand the complex layers of some celebrations, and even a local might not be able to explain it to you, any occasion you go to will almost certainly involve music, laughter, games, and a whole lot of feasting.

On New Years Eve Filipino families gather for a medianoche feast, usually with cousins, aunts and uncles, grandparents, and close friends. Together everyone practices a variety of traditions (or superstitions) intended to usher in a lucky new year. This is important because if we start off the new year badly, we will have bad luck for the rest of the year! A good number of these traditions are practiced by the Chinese during the Chinese New Year, which highlights the idea that Philippine culture is heavily influenced by Chinese culture.

jumping
pagtalon

Jumping up and down at the stroke of midnight will make you grow taller. The higher you jump, the taller youll grow. Even the smallest children are pulled out of bed so that they, too, can jump and grow taller.

Making loud noises by blowing a torotot , banging pots and pans, and lighting up paputok drives away bad spirits and bad luck.

How to bring in good luck

The Chinese New Year

Chinese New Year, or Spring Festival, begins on the first day of the first month in the Chinese calendar and ends with the Lantern Festival fifteen days later. As in other countries with Chinese communities, Filipino-Chinese will spend a lot of money to decorate and buy presents, andmost importantto feast heartily. On the eve of the New Year families typically gather for a special dinner that almost always includes fish, dumplings, and lucky tikoy . Wishes for happiness, wealth, and longevity abound.

gift money
ang pao

good-luck money in red packets

sticky rice cake
tikoy

sticky rice cake, or nidn go