My favourite part of growing up in the Philippines are the festivals that happens through out the year for every season. Some of our festivals were influenced by the Spaniards in the 1500s. We mostly focus on religious traditions while some other festivals are unified with the important historical events of our country. In this blog, I will be sharing my 3 favourite festivals that I have seen and would like to see again sometime soon.

First on my list is called the Pahiyas Festival. In Canada we always celebrate thanksgiving for the harvest and other blessings of the past year in which we would have our traditional “Turkey Dinner” along with some fruits and vegetables on the table from our local farms and stores. On the other hand, Philippines also celebrate this kind of thanksgiving; however, we do it differently. This is a collective event that brings different kind of harvest festivals.

When I was young I went to Lucban, Quezon with my family to see this huge festival. This happens on the 15th of May every year. This is when the people of Lucban decorate their houses lavishly with striking vibrant colours. If I remember, they also hung different kinds of vegetables as decorations for it shows the true meaning of the harvest season. Also, we were allowed to bring our own bag or baskets and pick fresh vegetables from the walls for free! I would love to come back to the Philippines just to experience this kind of festival once again, especially now that I am older I would appreciate this event even more.

Going on road trips and random adventures is what my family loves to do. When I was about 9 years old, we went to the “City of Smile” which is in Bacolod. Coincidentally, we saw a bunch of people gathering together for some reason and my father got curious so we went to check it out. At that time, we did not know that they were having the Masskara Festival, and by far it was the most coolest thing I have ever seen in my life.
This festival is filled of people wearing colourful smiling masks that are made up of native beads, feathers, and flowers. They allow tourists to relish twenty days of street dancing, beer drinking, and merrymaking. I remember the street of Bacolod filled with people wearing their extravagant masks and bright coloured costumes while dancing around and spreading euphoric atmosphere throughout the whole city. During the festival, the people from Bacolod are encourage to cease to think of the economic or financial struggle, the dead season of the sugar harvest. This leads the people to look at the festival as their way of seeking distraction and relief from unpleasant reality. The sugar harvest is significant to the locals since Negros Occidental where this place is found, is known as the Sugar Bowl of the Philippines.

Last but not the least, is the Giant Lantern Festival. Christmas is only a few more weeks away and I cannot help but to get excited about it; Christmas trees, Christmas lights, Christmas decorations, especially Christmas songs are what I look forward to. The best part is when I spend time with my family and friends as well as sharing gifts with everyone.

This is probably the last time I celebrated Christmas with my parents before moving here in Canada with my grandparents.

It was the most joyous and wonderful time I have ever had. My family and I went to San Fernando which isn’t that far from where my mother’s relatives used to live. They organize the biggest festival/competition in the Philippines where the participants are to make up to fifteen feet diameter lanterns. The thing is, the giant lanterns should only be made up of locally available materials. After all the lanterns are good to go, they are showcased in a parade before the midnight mass on Christmas Eve which the people of San Fernando always anticipates. This festival made me realized what the real meaning of Christmas is and how gorgeous lanterns are once they light up, and for that San Fernando is now called the “Christmas Capital of the Philippines”.

I have hundreds of things on my bucket list that I have been wanting to do but could not find the right time. However, I am achieving some of my goals slowly but surely for example: riding the tallest rollercoaster called ” The Leviathan” in Wonder Land, going for a never-ending road trip and eventually ended up in Sudbury, canoeing by my self at Prince Edward water park, and so much more. In this blog, I am going to share some of my personal exciting goals to achieve in the Philippines.

First thing on my bucket list is to go to Bohol which is located in the southern part of the Philippines, and the most popular thing to do here is an Oslob Whaleshark Encounter where you can go snorkeling underwater and swim with their friendly Whale-sharks. As well as, climbing, rappelling and rafting to reach the Kawasan Falls where the best food and best sights are provided. Even though I am not very good at swimming, I would still give this wonderful experience a chance. I want to be able to push myself to my limit and in order to do that, I will have to overcome my fear of whale-sharks and fear of drowning.

Secondly, 1-2 weeks vacation at Sundowners Vacation Villas in Pangasinan would be more than enough to get rid of all your stress and all your problems. I think that it is one of the most gorgeous place where you can enjoy swimming in an infinity pool along with your partner or family, a rooftop viewing deck, and most of all it has an Ancient Greek touch to it which I find really interesting and awesome at the same time. If you are worried about your budget well, don’t worry for it is pretty cheap. It would only cost you 10, 000 Philippine pesos for ten people, but if you convert that to Canadian dollars it should only cost you around $238.00 Canadian dollars and I think that it is worth the price.

Last but not the least, is this breath taking Nay Palad Hideaway in General Luna that is found in the southern part of the country and  is probably the most beautiful villa I have ever seen in pictures yet.
Carolin Dekeyser is the one who found this isle in Siargao. Although, the price is not that friendly I think it is worth everything. It would roughly cost a person about $2,139 just for a night, and they only have 9 rooms in the villa so they are most likely always sold out. This villa is then considered an exclusive one.

 

Today I will be sharing with you some of our traditional food. They are mostly used for parties such as: birthdays, weddings, Christmas, funerals, festivals and even just a simple family gathering.

The first dish is called Lumpia or Spring Rolls in English.

Lumpia is made of vegetables and meat and it is one of our most common dishes that you can find in any kind of gathering celebration. Generally, we serve this dish as an appetizer with a dipping sauce such as: soy sauce, vinegar, or a sweet sauce.

If you would like to try and cook this at home, feel free to check this website out and it will show you how to make it step by step.

 

No family gathering or party is complete without a plate of chopped lechon or a roast pig delivered right before the meal starts. The way it is made in our country, is with a whole pig cooked on a large stick over a pit filled with charcoal. In the Philippines, Cebu lechon has gotten a worldwide acknowledgement, but other provinces also have their own unique techniques when it comes to roasting a pig.

Last but not the least. Adobo, which is my most favourite dish in the Philippines. It was traditionally cooked in clay pots, but nowadays Adobo is made in more common metal pots or woks. Prior to this blog, I talked about when the Spaniards invaded the Philippines for a decade. They witnessed this traditional cooking method and they named it adobo, which means marinade in Spanish.

What is a culture? According to Wikipedia, culture is the social behaviour and norms found in human societies. Every country in the world has different cultures, but Philippines itself has a lot to share.

The Filipinos are basically of Malay stock with a little bit of Chinese, American, Arab and mostly Spanish blood. That makes our character a mixed of some cultures put together. It is based from the history of Western colonial rule, where the people of the Philippines interacted with the visits of merchants and traders in whom they fell in love with and decided to start a family in the country. Now we are made up of unique blend of east and west, both in appearance and culture.

When it comes to family, we are known for having close ties. Our family has been the unit of society and everything revolves around it. Like other household, the father is usually the head of the family, but while he rules the mother governs. The mother is known for being the teacher at home, she is the one who deals with financial issues, she also cooks for everyone no matter what the occasion is and most of all she is the one who  takes care of the needs of their children. The father on the other hand is responsible for looking for a job to make money in order to feed his family, and supply all their needs.

Lastly, hospitality is our number one priority in the country. Filipinos are very open and welcoming when it comes to our relatives, friends and even strangers. We do not hesitate to offer help for people who needs it. For example, when a person is need of a place to stay, we would gladly take them in and offer them a bed where they can sleep as well as food to eat and water to drink. It doesn’t matter what day and what time it is, we are taught that when a person is in need of help, we give it to them. For we believe that one day when we’re the ones who will be needing help, people will do the same for us.

Philippines is made up of 7,000 islands. They are not hundreds, but thousands. It might sound a lot, but if you see it in the globe it looks smaller than you thought it would be. Philippines was taken over by the Spanish for over 300 years, and it was decided to be named after King Phillip II. Ferdinand Magellan then sailed across the Pacific Ocean claiming the Philippines for Spain in the year of 1521. He even got Humabon which is the chief at that period to be baptized and make him a puppet ruler for the Spanish crown. When Magellan wanted the other chiefs to submit to Humabon, there was one chief that declined to do so. Magellan then got furious that he led soldiers to go and execute him; however, the Spanish troops were separated that Ferdinand Magellan became the target and got killed.

The people from Spain did not gain a secure place to obtain power in the Philippines until the year of 1565 when Miguel Lopez led a voyage and built a fort in Cebu. After six years, they landed in Luzon where they built the city of Intramuros which is now called Manila, and it became the capital of the Philippines. Conquerors from Spain walked inland and vanquished the northern part of the Philippines called Luzon. They generated an old-fashioned ownership system and owned huge properties that the Filipinos’ worked for. Spaniards were also the one who converted the Filipinos to Catholicism and built schools as well as universities for them.

The Spanish people brought in richness for the higher class. The Chinese sent goods such as: fabrics, ceramics, shellac, etcetera., every year to the Philippines. The years moved tediously in the country until the British seized Manila in the year of 1762, they held it for two long years and passed it back under the terms of the settlement of Paris and was validated in 1763.