Christmas, a major holiday and annual highlight for many Filipinos, is just around the corner! A much-loved and highly-anticipated occasion, the Filipino Christmas is truly like no other. Rooted in a rich history notable for attitudes of religiosity, reinvention, and generosity, a number of items have become indispensable for Christmas celebrations in the Philippines. Want to know how some cherished Filipino Christmas staples came to be markers of the season? Read on!
Enormous, intricate parols displayed for the Giant Lantern Festival in San Fernando, Pampanga. Photo from the Festival of Lights website
The Parol
Parols are decorative lanterns of complex geometric designs and twinkling lights, nowadays typically star-shaped.
The parol, derived from the Spanish word “farol” or lantern, had its humble beginnings as simple rectangular and oblong shapes crafted from bamboo strips and papel de japon (Japanese paper). In the days of Spanish conquest, these homemade lanterns were ordinary light sources. To light the way to church for Simbang Gabi, attendees would often bear parols, or these would be hung outside houses.
Later, the parol took on its well-known five-point star shape in the hands of artisan Francisco Estanislao from Pampanga, according to oral accounts. It became popular for its symbolism of the Star of Bethlehem, which had led the Magi (more widely known as the three wise men) to the infant Jesus. It eventually became its standard design during the American period.
Parols commonly sold today are built with cut capiz shells—used for its durability, translucence, and iridescence—lined with brass, or made with plastic and LED lights.
A belen featuring the three wise kings bearing witness to the Christ child. Photo from the Greg Secker Foundation
The Belen
The belen, or nativity scene, is a popular centerpiece in many Filipino homes during the holiday season. It is another traditional item passed down by the Spanish.
“Belen” is the Spanish word for the town of Jesus’ birth, Bethlehem. The display is derived from events recounted in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. Luke tells of Jesus’ manger birth and the shepherds’ visit, whereas Matthew wrote of the wise men who were guided to Jesus by a special star.
The practice of putting together a belen originated in Italy, during the Middle Ages. Discerning that people were losing sight of the true meaning of Christmas and were instead more concerned about gift-giving, Saint Francis of Assisi arranged for a commemoration of the nativity with the Pope’s blessing. This first belen was composed of actual people and animals.
According to Thomas of Celano’s account, Saint Francis intended “to see as much as possible with (his) own bodily eyes the discomfort of his infant needs, how he lay in a manger, and how, with an ox and an ass standing by, he was laid upon a bed of hay.”
Spain also adopted the practice, and it soon made its way to Spain’s Latin American colonies, and to the Philippines in the 1700’s.
The assembly of figures of wood or plaster placed within a stable display was initially only erected in churches. Later into Spanish rule, figurines formed from wood, plaster, stone, or even ivory came to be a part of the home during Christmastime.
Filipino children caroling with makeshift instruments: flattened bottlecaps and used tins. Photo from the Philippine Primer
Caroling
Caroling is yet another hallmark of the Filipino Christmas tracing back to Spanish influence.
The festive “villancicos” or carols were originally only sung for Mass, but eventually became common folk songs and carols. Much to the dismay of the clergy, spirited carolers modified villancicos, which are religious in nature, to include irreverent jokes.
It was often the youth who went out caroling, going from house to house. If wealthy homeowners enjoyed the performance, the carolers would be given aguinaldos or invited in for dinner.
From Spanish villancicos, Filipinos gradually shifted to carols in their native tongue and in English during the American period.
Carols like the “Invitation for Nativity” and “Responsarium” were sung on the streets since around 1894. During the Japanese occupation, “Payapang Daigdig,” a Filipino adaptation of “Silent Night,” was composed by national artist Felipe Padilla De Leon.
Today, it is common to hear songs such as “Ang Pasko ay Sumapit,” “Pasko Na Naman,” and “We Wish You a Merry Christmas.” Once given some money or treats, carolers would sing their thanks.
A honey-glazed ham from Allrecipes
Hamon
Hamon is known as the star of the Noche Buena feast, another element from the abundance of Spanish heritage embraced by the Filipino.
Ham, taking its name from the Old English “hamm” (meaning back of the knee), is called “jamon” in Spanish, and so became “hamon” in Filipino.
The preserved meat stays wholesome through extended journeys. Hence, the Spaniards were able to bring these to the Philippines and enjoy them following a fast on the evening of Jesus’ birth, which ended at the stroke of midnight.
Hamon was soon considered a status symbol among the elite, due to its place in the clergy’s sumptuous Noche Buena meals.
In the present, hamon represents the fruit of the year’s labors, said food historian Jaime Salvador Corpuz.
Fancy ang pao envelopes. Paper will do. Photo courtesy of For Urban Women
Ang pao
While the belen and hamon originated in Europe, the giving of ang paos dates back to thousands of years ago, during the Sung Dynasty in China. In those days, well-off families would give out coins, then China’s currency, in silk pouches during celebrations.
The tradition found its way onto Philippine shores with the migration of Chinese merchants and ordinary folk into the country while under Spanish dominion.
With time, the coins in pouches were replaced by paper envelopes holding paper money, as we are familiar with now.
Although usually distributed during the Chinese New Year, these red packets are also known gifts during Christmas and on birthdays.
