Traditions

To say that Christmas is a big deal in the Philippines is an understatement. The malls have been decorated and the holiday tunes have been playing for months now. December was a month of parties, and for many there is travel to one’s home province. I haven’t really heard people talk about gifts, though that’s a part of it (at the office there were some little gifts exchanged). The devotions and prayers are prominent year-round, but they have escalated with the Christmas theme. There are also lots of random fireworks and gunshots this time of year (not a good thing).

Filipinos celebrate Christmas with a novena – for the nine days before Christmas, they rise early for 4:30 am mass. Christmas Eve itself is the big night, Noche Buena. Families go to midnight mass and then come home and have a big feast. Presents can be exchanged that night or the next day. People also text all of their friends and family on Christmas Eve or on Christmas Day (which is another family day). There are Filipino-specific decorations – big, colorful stars and round balls made of abaca fiber, capiz-shell lights hanging from the trees.

Another tradition is the weekly flag ceremony; on the way to the Habitat build last month I passed the ceremony that was taking place at Pasig City Hall; one of the PCVs told me that every city, town and village has a flag ceremony every Monday morning at 7:30 am. I thought it would be interesting to go back some time, and this week was the time! I had the bonus of seeing City Hall all decorated for Christmas. Different groups of municipal workers stand in different spots – the city police here, the traffic enforcers there, the “green police” elsewhere, etc. While we were waiting, a marching band played Stevie Wonder tunes (unexpected) and “Nobody, nobody but you” (not sure if hearing it in marching-band version improved it). Then city officials came out (I was hoping to see the mayor, whose picture is everywhere, but he was on leave this week). They played the national anthem and raised the flag, while everyone saluted. Then there was some sort of oath that everyone took. And then there was a prayer. Then, members of the band took the stage to sing what sounded like a Pasig City anthem, and many of the workers sang along, full of emotion. There were some speeches, and then everyone went to work (including me!).

I’ll add that my travel last week was stress-free – no holiday mob at the airport, nobody confiscating my bottle of water, nobody caring that my sunscreen bottle was more than three ounces. I was already thinking about how unpleasant it is going to be back in the U.S. when I heard about the latest threat that was thwarted. Being frisked before you get on the plane? Hey, I get that every time I go to the Mega Mall or take the MRT!

An interesting side note, from the owner of Nuts Huts – he’s been in the business a while and he thinks travelers – even backpackers – aren’t as independent as they used to be. He said they want everything taken care of for them, and while he can arrange trips on Bohol, he’s not a travel agent for the rest of the Philippines. This echoes what the long-time Peace Corps Program Manager said about PCVs these days compared to years ago. If backpackers and Peace Corps Volunteers want everything handed to them, what does that say about the rest of society?

Another tradition here is that when a person celebrates a birthday, he or she treats everyone else. On Monday I’ll buy pizza for the office; earlier this week I treated some of my fellow PCRVs to dinner at California Pizza Kitchen. It was fun!

Oh – and Water Charity agreed to fund the smallest village in the Mindanao proposal, as a start. Check out http://watercharity.org/node/125. Donations welcome!

My new Tagalog phrase of the week – Maligayang Pasko at Manigong Bagong Taon – Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! New Year’s is also marked with fireworks. Happy New Year, everyone!