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Hello, Renxkyoko Iglesias here, wishing you peace, happiness, prosperity , and good health in 2017 and the years to come.

So I promised to post something about how Christmas is celebrated in the Philippines.

To start off, a joyful  Filipino Christmas music.  maybe you can click it , and listen while reading the rest of the post… yes ?  We learn a country’s culture through its music.  So, click , please ? The title is Kampana ng Simbahan or  Church Bell, or Bell of the Church

How does the Philippines celebrate Christmas ?

a) It’s the longest holiday celebration in the world. Everyone starts decorating right after  All Saints’ Day ( Filipinos call Todos los Santos , Nov. 1, which is a holyday in the Philippines , no work, no school, so the people can go to the gravesites of the deceased loved ones )

b)  Officialy, celebration starts on Dec. 16, at 5 AM, the start of the 9 – day  Mass, called  Misa de Gallo (   Mass at cock’s crow ). Filipinos go to Mass at 5 AM, everyday until Dec.24, …… then , another Mass at midnight of Christmas eve.  Filipinos look forward to this, that’s why  all the churches are full.  I haven’t been to one,   though  I remember getting  woken up  by a  loud but lively marching band  playing Christmas music , ” marching ” around the subdivision,   at 4 in the morning !  They are hired to wake everyone up , that’s the idea. lol

I am not exaggerating when I say the churches are full. lol

c)  Then after the Midnight Eve mass,  they eat  a midnight meal with the family ( and friends /relatives ) , which they call Noche Buena (  Good Night ).  So what are the traditional  Filipino

Noche Buena dishes ?

Ham and Queso de Bola (  Edam Cheese )

Paella (  rice  with shrimps, mussels, crab, chicken, etc )

Fruitcake…… I know we, in the US,  make fun of this cake, but for some reason,  Filipinos love it..  My mother tells that my grandma ( who has a baking business ) used to make thousands of fruitcakes every year  . They were orders from the biggest drug company in the Philippines  which were given as Christmas gifts to clients , usually huge food baskets.  I did bake  several loaves of fruitcakes for Thanksgiving….. we still have 2 left  , saved  for Christmas, one month after,  ha ha ha .  Eh. I brush the fruitcake with brandy once a week, and that’s a good thing, right ?  He he

Ooooh,  the glazed fruits, the nuts….. yum.

d)  Lechon  , if they can afford it. Here in the US, we make lechon kawali (  roasted pork belly )

And then the usual suspects…. the desserts….. leche flan ,  cassava cake, rice cakes, fruit salad, etc, etc. etc.

I’ll post our own Noche Buena after Christmas.

This is all for now. Merry Christmas  !

And  so I finish this up with  another charming and joyful  Philippine Holiday song… (  I can’t even pronounce the title …. it’s about the twinkling Christmas lights.