Philippine christmas tradition

I hope this is okay to post.. Christmas in the Philippines! In my country, people love Christmas so much the Christmas season starts on September 1. 😁 As a tropical country, we don't get snow but December is rainy so it can be a little cold (by our standards 24 deg C is cold 🤣🤣) We have "Misa de Gallo" which starts on Dec 16. People go to church at dawn to hear the mass for 9 days until Dec 25. They say your wishes will come true if you complete the 9 days of prayer. We celebrate on thr n

The Philippines brags about having the earliest and longest Christmas celebration anywhere in the world. But did you know that this period of festivities emerged way before the introduction of Christianity in the country?

Misa de Gallo; Philippines; begins December 9; Also called Simbang Gabi. Denotes the beginning of the Christmas season in Catholic parts of the Philippines; each day begins with church bells breaking the night silence to call people to dawn Mass; the Misa de Gallo period concludes with the midnight Mass on Christmas Eve.

Christmas Lanterns a must have in every Filipino home. Photo by my dad, Manny Goloyugo.

How Christians keep Christ at the center as commercial forces extend the six-month celebration.

The "parol" is the Filipino Christmas star, symbolizing the one that shone over Bethlehem about 2000 years ago. Simple ones are made of bamboo and plastic, with a single incandescent bulb inside. The more elaborate parols like this are multi-colored with synchronized blinking lights made of various materials like native capiz shells soldered together.

Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony Dec.1, 2010 at the Baywalk in Puerto Princesa, Palawan, Philippines

Belen