For Elizabeth,
best friend, chief merrymaker,
and lover of all things Filipino.
Anyone who knows something about the Philippines can tell you that Filipinos love a good party, and that we celebrate many different kinds of occasions—harvest time, a baby’s 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 Spain’s 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 Spain’s influence, these gatherings also showcase—at its best—Filipino 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 Mohammed’s birth celebration.
Since early times, indigenous tribal Filipinos celebrated special occasions, like a baby’s 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, therefore—a 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.
Cakes and birthday parties came to the Philippines during the American occupation, as did party hats, confetti, and the practice of singing the Happy Birthday Song. The Filipino way of celebrating birthdays in the old days was quite different. Family and friends prepared to greet the birthday celebrant very early in the morning, before he or she woke up, in a practice called the mañanita. They would sing and bring food to the birthday celebrant.
Pansit represents long life. Just like in Chinese culture, serving noodles at birthday celebrations ensures a long, healthy life for the celebrant.
first birthday, first haircut
A child’s first birthday is considered a big deal, and is celebrated with a party... and a first haircut. In some regions the baby’s parents ask their smartest relative to perform the ritual cutting, so that the baby will love school when he or she grows up.
Games
Kids of all sizes try to grab toys and goodies as the bamboo pabitin is lowered slowly, then suddenly snatched out of reach several times. Colorful banderitas, made from strips of crêpe paper, get in the way and make it a little tougher for kids to grab what they want.
In hampas palayok you need to be blindfolded, then spun around three times. The game master will point you in the general direction of the hanging target, and everyone will cheer you on as you swing hard at it. If you break the clay pot, candies will rain down all around you—and party guests will scamper about trying to grab as much candy as they can.
sack race
In the game luksong sako you have to hop as fast as you can to the finish line in a sack.
A Debut
When a girl turns eighteen her parents get ready to present her to society with a social dance called a debut. Just like in other cultures that practice this tradition, the debutant usually wears a formal gown to the grand party, which is often held at a hotel or banquet hall. The first dance of the evening is always performed by the celebrant and her father.
Our former motherland, Spain, introduced us to the debut tradition, so cotillón is a Spanish word. Eighteen of the debutant’s closest male friends dance in her cotillón, an elegant rehearsed ballroom dance, along with eighteen of her best female friends.
Women and girls most dear to the celebrant then light eighteen candles, one at a time, to symbolize the “light”
