Tuesday, December 18, 2007 Symbols of Christmas By Joy Romares-Sevilla
THE most meaningful celebration in every Filipino family starts with the appearance and the experience of at least five Christmas symbols - the bright, star-shaped lanterns or parol; the Christmas caroling by street boys and girls; the Christmas tree, be it a twig on a plant pot or even of soap suds; the simbang gabi which makes us experience cool dawns and solemn masses; and the bibingka, puto bumbong, and other "kakanin" often sold outside the churches.
This Christmas symbol will show up as early as September. For many people, the Christmas season starts as early as the start of the so-called "ber" months, September.
Parol comes in many different shapes and sizes, but the star-shaped pattern remains the most commonly used design. Recent designs of parol include that of Santa Claus's face, angels, reindeers, huge flowers, happy faces, and Christmas trees. The star-shaped parol, however, is regarded as distinctly Filipino.
Some people say that parol is also a showcase of the Filipino qualities of hospitality, skills, and passion for hope and peace.
"People who hang parols in their houses mean that they expect to have visitors during Christmas season, this shows the people's hospitality," Manolito Tidoy, a pastor, said.
He added that parol also shows the skills of Filipinos because materials used for parol are varied. Some are made out of indigenous materials like bamboo or rattan; some are made of recycled materials such as plastic cellophanes or even newspapers.
Lastly, he said parol symbolizes passion for hope and peace because people who hang parols in their houses also remember the true meaning of Christmas.
Who first hanged a parol outside his home at Christmas? No one knows. What everyone knows is that the parol is the symbol of Christmas in the Philippines, representing the guiding light, the star of Bethlehem.
The Christmas Caroling
Christmas caroling, meanwhile, is a Christian practice that the Filipinos have readily adopted, specifically by young boys and girls who would go from house to house at night and render songs with their tambourines, guitars, and even bottles, and flattened crowns of soft drinks strung together to make sounds.
The past years, the street boys and girls have also expanded their caroling prospects to motorists, surrounding vehicles caught in traffic.
Caroling, however, is but an adaptation from the western world, which traces caroling to ancient Europe where there is the practice of "wassailing" - a plain and simple drinking spree.
Its origins can be traced back to Babylon and Rome where they celebrated the Saturnalia to honor the go Saturn with drunkenness among masters and slaves who for those five days will enjoy moments of "equality", getting sloshed all together. This practice was brought from house to house in Northern Europe and became a community affair, where after imbibing all those liquor they go out and sing from house to house as well.
Not really a nice start of a Christmas tradition, but it has evolved through the centuries.
The Christmas Tree
One of the most popular Christmas symbols is the Christmas tree. It is an evergreen plastic tree decorated with Christmas balls, angels' designs, Santa Claus designs, small gifts, reindeers, and stars. It is usually lighted with Christmas lights with different colors to employ brightness and attractiveness.
Again, its origin can be traced to early Christians in Europe, apparently somewhere in Germany. But like the Filipino's first parol, there is no clear history on who made the first adorned tree.
A tree adorned to its top, however, suited the Filipino's perchance for the bright and beautiful, and thus, while pine trees are not readily available nationwide, the Filipinos just made do with what they have and decorated these with Christmas balls -- made of twigs or coconut midribs, plastic, even optical wires.
The Misa de Gallo
The Misa de Gallo, as its name suggests, is a Christmas tradition the Filipinos got from the Spanish colonizers.
In most Spanish speaking countries, Misa de gallo entails a typical midnight mass, starting at around 12:00 a.m. on Christmas Eve.
But the Filipinos will not be satisfied with celebrating for just one day and so stretched the celebration to nine days starting December 16. And just to differentiate it from the Christmas Eve highlight of the Simbang Gabi, the countdown masses were held at dawn, a practice also introduced by the Spanish colonizers to cater to farmers who wanted to attend Christmas mass but could not leave their fields.
Now, farmer or not, the Filipino Catholic troop to the church for their Misa de Gallo and Simbang Gabi and made an entire celebration out of this.
Nora Batestil, a mother of three and resident of SIR, Matina, Davao City, said that she often bang on each of her children's door every dawn for the mass.
She claimed she completes the "nine mornings" every year. For a devoted Catholic like her, she believes that her wishes for her family during Christmas will come true through completing the services and making sacrifice by rising early in the morning.
"I really complete the masses with my family, it feels good. When I was young, my parents also bring me to dawn masses in my hometown in Bohol," she said.
Batestil, on the other hand, shared that when she was young, a band in her hometown in Bohol plays traditional Christmas carols all over town an hour before the dawn mass starts (the mass starts at 4 a.m.).
"This is to wake the people up in time for the mass," she said.
Bibingka and Puto Bumbong
Usually after the service, churchgoers take the local ginger tea or "salabat", coffee, milk, or chocolate drink and the bibingka (rice cake), puto bumbong, and other Filipino delicacies at home with their family.
In Davao City, the most common Filipino delicacy is the rice cake, which can be bought right outside the churches.
A vendor of Filipino delicacies outside the San Pedro Cathedral said she enjoys selling "kakanins" as she sees the people's cravings to eat after attending the service.
"People are surely hungry after attending the mass, I enjoy selling outside the church because I often go home with my basket empty," she said.
