“ The Traditions in the Philippines “

Over the time we Filipinos shared diffirent practices,customs and beliefs from
generation to generation. These things became a part of our everyday life and it is
what it makes us one , and this is called traditions. The Philippines is a mixture of
western and native Filipino traditions. Do you still remember those nostalgic feelings
when we Filipinos celebrate both different national and local holidays? Or the
different gestures,the way we dressed and our beliefs ? Now let me introduced to
you some of these Philippine traditions that are commonly adapted by most of the
Filipinos.

Through my years living here in the Phillippines, I have witnessed different

traditions and also experienced it. First is that one of the traditions we can be proud
of as Filipino is our hospitality in accepting visitors. There are various foreigners and
tourist believes that the Philippines is a very good country because of its people that
never failed to smile and accept them when they travel. Second like no other Asian
nation. The Philippines also practiced celebrating both local and national holidays.
These holidays are the most important dates in our calendar where we spend too
much preparation in order to celebrate it successfully. One of these is the celebration
of the birth of Jesus also known as “ Christmas”. The preparation of this celebration
started in preparing for presents or gifts, decorating the houses to suits in Christmas
theme and you can see all the streets lively with lights and other Christmas decors. I
can still remember those days when the countdown of Christmas started in the
month of September. Yes you read it right, Philippines spend a long Christmas
season and it is started during the bear months which is started in the Month of
September and ends in the third or fourth week of January. It is celebrated for almost
half a year (4 months and 3–4 weeks or 5 months). The Christmas season is my
favorite part of our tradition not only it is celebrated longer than the other holidays but
it is where the Filipinos connect to each other especially with their families. During
this celebration there is always a “Noche Buena” it is the night, and the feast, before
Christmas Day. More specifically, it is the meal eaten after hearing the midnight
mass to welcome Christmas Day. Furthermore, during this Christmas season in the
month of December there is always a “Simbang Gabi “ it is a series of nine dawn
masses on the days leading up to Christmas and of course one of our beliefs as
Filipinos when we attended completely these 9 masses they say that our wish will
come true. I can still remember the crowded people despite of the cold ambiance
people never let it to be the hindrance of their faith. And after the Simbang gabi
we shared different delicious native delicacies such as kakanin like puto
bumbong paired with kapeng barako a famous native coffee here in the
Philippines.
 Another Philippine tradition is the celebration of New Year’s Eve also
known as “ Media Noche” here in the Philippines. On New Year's Eve, Filipino
families, relatives, and friends gather for a magnificent midnight feast that
represents their expectations for a prosperous and abundant year ahead. This
tradition was most likely passed down from the Spaniards, who colonized the
area for more than 300 years. During this celebration, I can still remember when
my mother always bought a variety of round shape fruits. At first, didn’t know why
I thought it is just a decoration. But then now I realized that Filipinos consider the
round to be a symbol of riches and good fortune. This tradition was passed down
from the Chinese. The spherical fruits are frequently the focal point of the Media
Noche. They also say that fruits with thorns, such as pineapple, jackfruit, and
durian, should also be avoided since the thorns represent troubles or obstacles.
We also buy not just fruits but also gold coins chocolates. We placed coins in the
bowl of rice and boiled eggs with a rolled money. More over, after the new year’s
eve mass in the church I always saw people wearing polka dots dress and
wearing this kind of dress in new year’s eve is also a tradition. For Filipinos
wearing anything that is round symbolizes prosperity.The polka dots represent
wealth and fortune. In addition, one of my favorite activities that is also a
Philippine tradition during New year’s eve is to jump really high when the clock
strikes 12. This is the most enjoyable moment when we are counting during the
count down and when it strikes at 12 I totally jump so high. The reason of it is
because as a tradition children are encouraged to leap as high as they can
because our elders believe it will help us to grow taller.And after of celebrating
the countdown, we made a lot of noises using anything that can make a sound.
Like “torotots” a horn pipe in english , bottles,cauldron or “kaldero” , fireworks and
firecrackers. Our main goal is to make loud noises to frighten away evil spirits
and elements, as well as to drive away bad luck and it is also part of the
Philippine Traditions. Aside from pyrotechnics, some make loud noises by using
items such as a car horn, , or even frying pans or pots.

Aside from national holidays we Filipinos also celebrate fiesta, and

different festivals from different places such as Sinulog Festival – Cebu, Ati-Atihan
Festival – Aklan, Dinagyang Festival – Iloilo City , Pahiyas Festival – Lucban,
Quezon, Panagbenga Festival – Baguio City, Lechon Festival – Batangas,
Kadayawan Festival – Davao City, MassKara Festival – Bacolod and many more.
During fiesta, I can still remember those busy days where we are busy in cooking
and preparing our “handa” or food offers for our visitors. Fiesta is an important
component of the Filipino culture. Each city or province has a local fiesta. Being a
very religious-centered country, a fiesta is commonly about the celebration of a city
or province's patron saint or of harvest. During this celebration, all I can saw are the
different foods coming from different houses in our community and of course the
shining shimmering Lechon is always present because it is the most popular dish
during a celebration. Every house has always a visitor and one of the Filipino
traditions on having visitors is that Filipino moms only bring outs their valuable dining
materials such as new plates, spoons, glasses and etc. only for the sake of the
visitors. The last tradition where I can be proud of is my commonly adapted gesture
especially if you are born in a very respectable family. We practiced as a sign of
respect to elders, and it is called “pagmamano “. It is one of the oldest and most
notable Filipino tradition.” Mano” means hand in Spanish, fittingly so as pagmamano
is done by gently tapping the hand of the elder to a younger person’s forehead. The
elder in return says “God bless you” hence why the act is also often referred to as
“bless”.

All in all, aside from the influences of colonization and neighboring

countries, the Philippines has a very distinct culture and traditions. Filipinos are
hardworking people that seek to make life better for the next generation of their
family. This country is a vibrant, fascinating, and diverse place to live and visit
because of the melting pot notion that is visible in its culture and tradition.
Moreover, because of the influences of colonization and neighboring countries,
the Philippines has a very distinct culture and tradition. Filipinos are hardworking
people that seek to make life better for the next generation of their family. Lastly,
Filipinos should know the value of tradition because it plays a vital role in our
lives.It is necessary to know our own traditions and values as Filipinos to further
establish our identity as Asian because our traditions and values connect us to
where we come from and that is our beloved country Philippines.