SEPTEMBER: A Month to RecoBER, A Month to RememBER
(An entry to HivePH Blogging contest - WEEK 1 What does -Ber months mean to Filipinos like you?)
The Philippines is home to world-renowned wonders. Great PEOPLE, amazing PLACES, masasarap na PAGKAIN, at mahabang PASKO (4Ps).
(image source: https://web.facebook.com/WorldClassPinoysPH/?_rdc=1&_rdr)
As the 13th most populous country in the world, we can select the best among us in a chosen field. Pinas is the cradle of beauty queens, sports legends, and computer wizards (Y2k bug). Despite this greatness, Filipinos are still known for humility and hospitality.
The Philippines also has an abundance of wildlife, biodiversity, and tourist destination which make travelers flock to the country for these natural marvels.
(image source: https://www.philcare.com.ph/5-traditional-filipino-dishes-cooked-healthier/)
Filipino dishes are also amazing. For starters, Pinoy cuisine can be prepared and served in more than 7000 ways depending on which island you stay on. And another food for thought, the delicacy can also be called by more than 150 names! Desserts usually include mangoes, the sweetest in the world! (Well, I guess now you’re drooling).
(image source: https://www.loveradio.com.ph/provincial_trending/ber-months-philippines-means-expect/)
Lastly, the Philippines is said to hold the longest Christmas celebration in the world. Others see this as the commercialization of the holiday but for the people in Negros, BER months mean the beginning of life. As a Negrense (someone who lives on the Negros Island), I witnessed how life is transformed when September comes.
(image source: http://www.negrosnine.com)
In Negros, most fiestas are celebrated until March. Sometime in April, around the conclusion of the Semana Santa, also starts the Tiempo Muerto. The Tiempo Muerto (also known as the dead season) everyone in Negros knows too well. Dead season because the sugar centrals don’t mill sugar that lasts for up to six months. When the last roar of the milling engine fades, so does the life of the thousand farm workers who rely on the sugar industry. The deafening silence of the sugar mills entails misery and hunger for the next 180 days.
BER months are here! Imagine the delight of these poor people when the sugar mills roar again. Everything springs back to life. May obra ang sakada kag ang de carga may pasada. (Sugarcane plantation workers are employed and sugarcane trucks are back on the roads). The dead comes back to life! This calls for a celebration. Thus Masskara Festival was born. Unlike most fiestas celebrated in honor of patron saints, Masskara is focused on the celebration for the Negrense people. A celebration of overcoming the seemingly hopeless plight.
(image source: https://blog.travelcenter.uk/the-masskara-festival-philippines-most-colourful-festival/)
Another BER celebration that the Negrense look forward to is the Buglasan Festival. Buglasan is also known as the festival of festivals in the eastern side of the island. Buglasan reminds us of the Negrense heritage and humble beginnings. The unique Negrense culture and nature prior to the colonization are celebrated together with the thanksgiving for the generosity of the land and sea.
(image source:https://travelauthenticphilippines.com/buglasan-festival-negros-oriental-2015/)
Indeed, BER months mean a lot to us as Filipinos… they even mean a lot more to us as Negrenses. In these BER months, we recover and we remember. HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
(image source: https://trendingph.net/its-officially-the-start-of-the-ber-months-merry-christmas-kapamilya-%F0%9F%8E%84%F0%9F%8E%80/)
Oh! before I forget, Did I mention that Jose Mari Chan is also from Negros?
Visit Negros, see for yourself and enjoy the rest of the BER months with us.
Disclaimer: Photos not mine. CTTO