Woohoo it's November! They say everything's late in my country, oh, but never Christmas! :)
Filipinos are a fun-loving people, even when facing huge problems, the Pinoy can stilll manage a smile, and a joke or two. The Christmas season is sacred to us and a time for family and friends. A time to express love and to enjoy the company of loved ones. People often ask when is the best time to visit the Philippines. I think Christmas season is the best time to visit aside from summer time. Here are some things to see and enjoy during the Christmas season in the Philippines:
Join a Noche Buena: The traditional Filipino Christmas dinner
The Christmas eve dinner or commonly called Noche Buena in the Philippines is one of the highlights of the Filipino Christmas celebration.
Foreigners who are dining with Filipino families or are hosted in a Filipino home will surely be treated to a sumptuous fare of Filipino cuisine. Traditionally, Christmas dinner is usually done in buffet style which offers 15 to 20 food items in a table beautifully decorated with Christmas wreath or flowers and dining wares used only during special occasions such as this. The Noche Buena is eaten around midnight, after the Christmas eve Mass.
Among the typical dishes served during the Christmas dinner are lechon (roasted pig), kare-kare (oxtail stew in peanut butter sauce), rellenong manok (baked stuff chicken), noodle and pasta dishes like pancit or spaghetti, barbecue, adobo, native rice cakes, lumpia (spring rolls) and Queso de Bola (cheese that is shaped like a ball). In most Filipino tables, the queen of the dinner table is the Chinese ham made from cured and sweetened pork meat that can be cooked from home or bought in many supermarkets.
Other traditional Christmas liquids to try are the hot "tsokolate," a native chocolate drink and the "salabat" or ginger tea which are great for cold early mornings. You may also try the internationally renowned San Miguel beer made in the Philippines.
The Filipino Noche Buena is like an open house celebration. Family, friends, relatives, and neighbors drop in to wish family members a "Maligayang Pasko" or Merry Christmas. Many major hotels in the Philippines also serve the traditional dishes in their Filipino restaurants during the Christmas season.
Try the Filipino native cakes
Friends who are visiting over the holidays must try the Filipino native cakes abundant during the Christmas season. A local delicacy to try is the bibingka, a rice cake topped with salted eggs and served in banana leaf with fresh coconut meat and brown sugar, a favorite of many locals. It is best eaten when it is still hot, where you can also put butter and it melts on the rice cake.
Another must try Filipino native cake, usually found along street stalls in the early morning when the locals have gone to dawn mass, is the delicious puto bumbong, rice steamed inside a "bumbong" or a small bamboo tube. It is delicious colored purple and topped with coconut meat and butter.
Suman or steamed rice wrapped in banana leaves can also be bought outside the Church.Suman is best pared with a hot chocolate and eaten with fresh mango on the side. Truly delicious! You can also find these local rice cakes in local restaurants inside malls who serve these native delicacies.
Experience the Misa de Gallo
Filipinos are known to have the longest and the merriest Christmas celebration in the world. As early as September, Christmas songs are already being played in the local radio and Christmas trees are put up in most homes after the commemoration of All Soul's Day on November 2.
Although the Christmas cheer informally begins at the turn of the "ber" months in most Filipino homes, the Christmas holidays formally begin on December 16, when the first of the nine novena masses is began. Most Filipinos observe the traditional "Simbang Gabi" to honor the child Jesus whose birthday is celebrated on December 25, Christmas Day.
The tradition is also known by its popular Spanish name, "Misa de Gallo" which means mass of the rooster since Catholic churches throughout the country will be sounding their bells around 3 in the morning long before the roosters crow to wake up the faithful to worship. The bells carry a message of hope in the love of God and peace on earth.
Given that the Philippines is predominantly a Catholic nation, most Filipinos look forward to and honor this Christmas tradition. They go to the pre-dawn mass for nine days before Christmas as their gift to Jesus. On December 24 when the last of the nine pre-dawn masses is held, most families still attend the Christmas Eve Mass in the evening, where there is a joyful gathering of family and friends offering thanksgiving to their new born King.
After the Mass ends on midnight, families gather for the Noche Buena, a family feast of Filipino food and cuisines inherited by the Filipinos from the Spanish, Chinese and Americans among others. It is a night without sleep and a continuous celebration until Christmas Day.
The celebrations do not end on Christmas day however and the season of good cheer continues until the first Sunday of January, the Feast of the Ephipany, that commemorates the three kings who presented their gifts to the child Jesus.
So, if you wish to see the Philippines at its best and partake of its unique culture, do visit during the Christmas season when the breeze is cold but not freezing and you can enjoy the warmth of fun loving Filipinos.
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