PASKO
SA AMING BAYANG PILIPINAS
CHRISTMAS
IN THE PHILIPPINES
NANG SI KRISTO'Y ISILANG...
When
Jesus Christ was born.
Christmas is a celebration of the birth of the Child Jesus.
Because of this, Filipinos also believe that Christmas is for the
children. On December 25, Filipino children may look forward to
receiving aguinaldo, in cash or in kind,
from kind-hearted grandparents, uncles, aunts or other relatives,
both in and out of the house.
Arrayed in new dresses or shoes and
accompanied by their parents, they make the rounds of visiting their
ninongs and ninangs,
godparents who stood to be their second parents at baptismal time. If they're
lucky, there'd be more gifts and aguinaldos to take home.
Small wonder that for the average Filipino, Christmastime also becomes
a test of purse strings (stretching limited resources to cover seemingly
endless gift lists), ingenuity (finding the right gift for the least price),
creativity (making the gift look more expensive than the price) and
endurance (finding the strength to make it through crowds,
long lines, traffic jams).
December 28 is "Niņos Inocentes" or Holy Innocents' Day, a day for remembering the young innocents
who met Death in the hands of Herod and his men in their search for the child Jesus. The hassles
of the Christmas season are nearly over with, but not the mirth. Beware of
anyone who comes to borrow what's left of your money. Or don't be caught off guard with practical jokes.
This day, the Philippine version of
April Fool's Day, is also a day of jest for another kind of 'innocents'.
