The best thing about Christmas in the Philippines is that the celebration starts as early in the year as September! I know my fellow filipinos can agree with me. Haha. Once the 'ber' months start, we start counting down the days to Christmas, malls and radio stations start playing Christmas songs, mothers (like my mom) all over start decorating the house and setting up the tree. The Christmas vibe is so strong here during the 'ber' months that you can feel the joy and happiness spreading long time before the holiday itself. The funny thing is that "Christmas" extends here too sometimes until January! You can still hear the songs on the radio and in the mall, and decorations still haven't been taken down. It's honestly such a beautiful site!
To those wondering why the filipinos are so eager to celebrate Christmas and are so uneager to end the celebration? Well, here are my two cents on it.
Filipinos are known for their immense love for family. We love to keep the family bond tightknit. Working long, hard hours everyday (sometimes even on the weekends) doesn't give people a lot of time to spend the time they want to with their family. There are some families that don't even live together, for example my family. I have an older brother that studies medicine in Manila so he rarely comes up to visit due to his tight schedule. Both of my parents take turns going down to Manila for months sometimes to take care of business. Some families have relatives that work abroad which makes it even harder to come back for visits. So yes, all these unfortunate set ups make it hard for families to get together the way they want to.
Christmas time, on the other hand, is the time when the kids aren't in school anymore, overseas workers get to come home, the time when parents get days off from work. It's sometimes the only time of the year that families get to see each other. We get the time to just relax, the time to prepare meals for the whole family, go out to new places, and celebrate with dear relatives. You see, it isn't Christmas perse that we look forward to, it is the time that will be spent with loved ones that we get excited about. ❤