In the centuries-old hymn “The 12 Days of Christmas,” the celebrations last lower than two weeks.
Today, Christmas is often celebrated in December, and in some regions also during much of November.
But 4 months of festivities within the Philippines give latest intending to the term “holiday season.”
Months of “ber”.
Christmas is well known throughout the “ber” months, as they’re called within the Philippines – September, October, November and December, said Robert Blancaflor, head of Manila-based event design firm Robert Blancaflor Group, as quoted by CNBC.
“Christmas is the longest-celebrated season in the Philippines and… our country celebrates it the longest in the world,” he noted. “Can you imagine an entire nation freely spreading warmth and affection… for so long?”
But the parties don’t end in December.
“The Christmas rush starts on September 1 and ends in the first week of January,” said Marot Nelmida-Flores, a professor of Filipino studies on the University of the Philippines in Diliman.
In any case, he says it is a “very latest phenomenon.” And the explanation is understood.
Commercialization of holidays
“With the development of shopping malls, first in Metro Manila and later spreading far into the provinces, Christmas songs began to be heard soon after All Saints’ Day [on] November 1,” said Joven Cuanang, a neuroscientist and renowned art and culture enthusiast within the Philippines. “It was to get people to start shopping for Christmas presents – the theme was trade.”
Retail establishments that introduce Christmas-themed products to the market sooner than up to now are the reason behind the so-called “Christmas madness” in lots of countries. A notable difference is that while others condemn such behavior, Filipinos normally welcome it.
“Filipinos start producing paroles, or Christmas lanterns, in September,” Nelmida-Flores said. “Nowadays, many island regions have their own distinctive Christmas-themed squares and parks.”
Families are reunited
Nelmida-Flores said one other aspect that increases seasonal happiness is the return home of the “balikbayan” – an estimated 2.2 million Filipino residents working abroad, in line with the Philippine Statistics Authority. According to the web site Statista, overseas Filipino staff paid about $30 billion to the Philippines in 2020, accounting for nearly 10 percent of the country’s total gross domestic product.
It probably won’t occur this 12 months. Many international staff who live in places like Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Hong Kong is not going to travel this 12 months as a result of the worldwide epidemic.
Marites Rheme Lopez Javier, who has lived and worked in Singapore for 18 years, has not visited her family within the Philippines since 2019. He hopes to have fun Christmas with them, including his first grandchild born last month, via video chat.
Javier said radio stations began playing Christmas tunes in English and Tagalog around September. This can also be when decorations are hung – including Christmas trees. According to her, festivals and sweetness pageants – a controversial but extremely popular pastime within the Philippines – start in October.
She recalled that as a youngster, her family created a Christmas tree out of manila paper and cardboard. In this area, plastic Christmas trees are already standard at a low price.
When asked if she thinks there may be “an excessive amount of Christmas” within the Philippines, the 45-year-old Luzon resident replied: “No, we find it irresistible! It’s a really nice time.”
Changing the ceremony to an earlier one
The Manila Peninsula lit its 45-foot Christmas tree in early November, but “we moved it slightly earlier, to the second Friday in October,” said Mariano Garchitorena, the hotel’s head of public relations.
He added that “there isn’t any reason to delay Christmas because Christmas is all the time an awesome idea,” adding that that is what “any decent Filipino like me” would say.
To benefit from the “cold weather,” Garchitorena explained, the hotel will offer outdoor dining throughout the holiday season. According to Climate-Data.org, the common temperature in Manila in December is 25 degrees Celsius.
Nina Halley, owner of Manila-based flower and decoration company The Love Garden, said she began receiving holiday orders in July.
“The West, especially the United States,” Halley noted, “has had a tremendous influence on the Philippines.” That’s why pine and cypress trees, pine cones and dried oranges occupy a crucial place in your complete home decor. Believe it or not, we import fir trees… from Europe.”
Country of religion
According to Blancaflor, the Philippines is celebrating the five hundredth anniversary of Christianity this 12 months, which explains the long holiday season within the country.
According to the Stanford School of Medicine, about 92 percent of the people of the Philippines are Christians. Moreover, of the population of 110 million, 80 percent consider themselves Catholic – a better percentage than in Italy.
About 88 percent of Filipinos say they’re highly or moderately religious, in line with a 2020 survey by the Philippine social research institute Social Weather Stations.
Many worshipers join the Simbang Gabi ritual, a nine-day period of attending pre-dawn mass that runs from December 16 to 24, Blancaflor said. Spanish missionaries are credited with bringing this practice to America within the 18th century.
This used to signal the start of Christmas, said Cuanang, who remembers attending the event as a toddler: “For nine days, we went to church huddled within the cold every dawn, culminating in midnight mass on Christmas Eve.”
He recalled that at the moment the celebrations only lasted about three weeks.
“Most people of my generation think the four-month deadline is a bit too long,” Cuanang, 81, noted.
What accomplish that many celebrations say about culture?
“Filipinos are a happy people,” Halley said, adding that her fellow residents will find “every reason to be happy and prepare food, gather around the table, sing, dance and have fun.”
Blancaflor said the Christmas season showcases one of the best qualities of Filipinos: kindness, generosity, ingenuity and loyalty to family.
He emphasized that Christmas is a time to point out one another how much we care about one another.
Poverty levels rose to greater than 24 percent earlier this 12 months, in line with the Philippine Statistics Authority. This equates to greater than 26 million people living below the poverty level of 12,082 Philippine pesos monthly ($242) in a five-person household.
The country, which incorporates about 7,100 islands, can also be liable to typhoons. According to the Asian Center for Disaster Reduction, a mean of 20 disasters strike annually, five of that are harmful.
“Filipinos are quick to respond and diligently take advantage of the festive atmosphere [assist] it has had an impact primarily on individuals,” Blancaflor said. “One of probably the most amazing things about Filipinos [is] to have the option to smile despite life’s flaws and at the identical time appreciate the hardships – believing that a greater day will come.
SOURCE: cnbc
