Philippine Christmas

Some people are curious -- what exactly is a Philippine Christmas? There are quite a few variations.

Check out Jac's Dec 25 entry at http://bitter-pill.blogspot.com

Philippine Christmases light up with early morning masses (misa de gallo) nine days before December 25, christmas lanterns or parols of various shapes and colors, christmas gifts such as Yugioh trading cards that kids open at midnight (unless their parents are so sleepy they agree to gift-opening at 11pm), Christmas eve "midnight" mass at 9pm where you get to wear brand-new clothes, noche buena feast of spaghetti or sotanghon, salty hamon, hot chocolate eh, chicken stuffed with sticky rice, watercress nuts and raisins, salty pancit molo soup, ensaimada, queso de bola, fruit salad, lechon or pritson, steamed shrimp, lumpia or spring rolls, and all those pastries your friends and relatives sent you days before Christmas.

I'm still tired from attending so many parties (parents, mother-in-law's relatives, father-in-law's relatives, friends, officemates, etc), so I'll try and catch some sleep first....

(Watch this space. Nope, no "boring" bazaar skeds here. That's for another page. ;-])
[ First posted on 12/26/2003 by Manuel Viloria ]