Filipino christmas

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?

Filipinos around the world hold one holiday symbol above the rest: the parol, a traditional ornamental lantern that adorns streets, homes and buildings in the Philippines. This is how to build your own.

Here are some of the unique Filipino Christmas practices that make it more exciting to spend the season in the Philippines:

The Best Traditional Filipino Christmas Food - Here are some delicious Filipino dishes you'll find at every family gathering this holiday season.

This month we revisit the origins and meaning of a traditional Christmas decor that is uniquely Filipino

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.

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.

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