DAY 6 | PH vs LON
DAY 6!
Welcome to #TalkativeTuesdays on this 24 day Christmas Challenge. #TalkativeTuesdays is just the day we will chat about anything and everything and it is a series which I may continue even after this Christmas Challenge is over. Since this is a Christmas Challenge I will be making these #TalkativeTuesdays as christmasy as I can.
To start this series off we will be talking about the differences between Christmas in the UK mainly London and what it is like in the Philippines.
DISCLAIMER before we begin I am only sharing my experiences and a few of my friends so it may be different for your families so please bare that in mind.
The first major difference I can tell you is about the atmosphere and the preparation. So in the Philippines usually as soon as summer (or the rainy season for them) is over then they start preparing for Christmas. This means during the '-ber' months (September usually) all the stores start playing Christmas music and people may even start decorating. You will definitely start seeing Christmas decor in stores. Many of you may be thinking that this is way too early or what about Halloween. Well in the Philippines they don't really celebrate Halloween. 80% (approx) of the population of the Philippines are catholics and almost all believe in some sort of religion. Basically Halloween is not really celebrated due to certain beliefs so Christmas is celebrated quite early.
Since we are on the topic of religion let me tell you about Christmas eve and Christmas day. So on Christmas Eve in the Philippines after going to midnight mass or "Simbang gabi" they have a traditional dinner which is called Noche Buena. Here in the UK many people just feast on Christmas day and if they are religious they may go to church in the morning or the day before. Not only this but British people may go out to drink at the pub and spend time with their mates having a pint or two. In the Philippines it is quite similar; many people may travel to your house and spend Christmas with you. Those with larger families will have a lot of food and friends and family are welcome to join them with no invitation. So I guess you could say Christmas in the Philippines is very family orientated creating a better spirit of Christmas.
Food. Let us compare food YAS! Here in the UK it is traditional to have a turkey to celebrate Christmas but the equivalent of a turkey in the Philippines is Lechon or a pig with an apple in its mouth. Yes you read right; they have pigs, and not just the body of the pig as in the whole thing with head and everything. Also to accompany the pig they have gammon or Christmas ham (yes more pig I know) just like the English but since filipinos like everything and I mean EVERYTHING sweet they put pineapple with it. Also their spaghetti is sweet using banana ketchup instead of spaghetti sauce. We filipinos just have a weird sweet tooth I know.
Anyway back to the comparing, let us talk about decorations since I do love getting creative. Some British people have this superstition, a belief that it is bad luck to keep your Christmas decorations up after new year. Well guess what, filipinos don't care, if they could they would keep their decor up all year round. They don't believe in things like this and would usually take the decor down a few weeks after Christmas and not just a week. Also in the Philippines they do not have wreaths, instead they have Parols. A parol is a star-shaped lantern in which you can decorate in any way you want and it doesn't need to be lit with candles it just needs to be lit with a form of light. During November time you will definitely see many parols, all different sizes and designs. Many people sell them too as they are super easy to make, maybe I'll show you next year.
Another comparisons is carolling. Now if you want to make a lil bit of money then here is an easy job. Carolling usually begins in November with kids knocking on your gate or door singing Christmas carols hoping for a bit of change. After they have stopped singing they finally sing "Thank you, thank you, ang babait ninyo, thank you." Which simply translates as 'Thank you, thank you, you are so kind, thank you' and they move to the next house.
Here in London you don't see people especially kids going from house to house carolling unless it is religious groups. Though even then they will only go to the homes of people they know. In the century we live in it is hard to go carolling especially due to the sky being light for such a short period of time, but that is a different topic that we may cover in the future.
Finally the one thing you all want to know is about Santa. Let me tell you a lil filipino Santa fact. It is quite simple, he doesn't really exist. Now that was harsh I understand however families in the Philippines are not as fortunate as us in the UK. Due to the Philippines being a developing country they don't really believe in a Santa. I guess you could say the more fortunate do know who Santa is and what he does but for those less fortunate do not necessarily believe in a Santa. They understand the concept of Santa but they are strong believers of you are given what you work hard for. It is your hard work that pays for the gifts. Most filipino kids understand the struggle their parents go through to give them food alone, so they grow up being very grateful and not really a believer in a Santa.
Well that is it for now, I hope you learnt a few things about Philippines and the UK. Sorry that this was a hella long blog post but I hope you liked it. If you like talkative blogs like this just let me know.
Anyways see you tomorrow.
Welcome to #TalkativeTuesdays on this 24 day Christmas Challenge. #TalkativeTuesdays is just the day we will chat about anything and everything and it is a series which I may continue even after this Christmas Challenge is over. Since this is a Christmas Challenge I will be making these #TalkativeTuesdays as christmasy as I can.
To start this series off we will be talking about the differences between Christmas in the UK mainly London and what it is like in the Philippines.
DISCLAIMER before we begin I am only sharing my experiences and a few of my friends so it may be different for your families so please bare that in mind.
The first major difference I can tell you is about the atmosphere and the preparation. So in the Philippines usually as soon as summer (or the rainy season for them) is over then they start preparing for Christmas. This means during the '-ber' months (September usually) all the stores start playing Christmas music and people may even start decorating. You will definitely start seeing Christmas decor in stores. Many of you may be thinking that this is way too early or what about Halloween. Well in the Philippines they don't really celebrate Halloween. 80% (approx) of the population of the Philippines are catholics and almost all believe in some sort of religion. Basically Halloween is not really celebrated due to certain beliefs so Christmas is celebrated quite early.
Since we are on the topic of religion let me tell you about Christmas eve and Christmas day. So on Christmas Eve in the Philippines after going to midnight mass or "Simbang gabi" they have a traditional dinner which is called Noche Buena. Here in the UK many people just feast on Christmas day and if they are religious they may go to church in the morning or the day before. Not only this but British people may go out to drink at the pub and spend time with their mates having a pint or two. In the Philippines it is quite similar; many people may travel to your house and spend Christmas with you. Those with larger families will have a lot of food and friends and family are welcome to join them with no invitation. So I guess you could say Christmas in the Philippines is very family orientated creating a better spirit of Christmas.
Food. Let us compare food YAS! Here in the UK it is traditional to have a turkey to celebrate Christmas but the equivalent of a turkey in the Philippines is Lechon or a pig with an apple in its mouth. Yes you read right; they have pigs, and not just the body of the pig as in the whole thing with head and everything. Also to accompany the pig they have gammon or Christmas ham (yes more pig I know) just like the English but since filipinos like everything and I mean EVERYTHING sweet they put pineapple with it. Also their spaghetti is sweet using banana ketchup instead of spaghetti sauce. We filipinos just have a weird sweet tooth I know.
Anyway back to the comparing, let us talk about decorations since I do love getting creative. Some British people have this superstition, a belief that it is bad luck to keep your Christmas decorations up after new year. Well guess what, filipinos don't care, if they could they would keep their decor up all year round. They don't believe in things like this and would usually take the decor down a few weeks after Christmas and not just a week. Also in the Philippines they do not have wreaths, instead they have Parols. A parol is a star-shaped lantern in which you can decorate in any way you want and it doesn't need to be lit with candles it just needs to be lit with a form of light. During November time you will definitely see many parols, all different sizes and designs. Many people sell them too as they are super easy to make, maybe I'll show you next year.
Another comparisons is carolling. Now if you want to make a lil bit of money then here is an easy job. Carolling usually begins in November with kids knocking on your gate or door singing Christmas carols hoping for a bit of change. After they have stopped singing they finally sing "Thank you, thank you, ang babait ninyo, thank you." Which simply translates as 'Thank you, thank you, you are so kind, thank you' and they move to the next house.
Here in London you don't see people especially kids going from house to house carolling unless it is religious groups. Though even then they will only go to the homes of people they know. In the century we live in it is hard to go carolling especially due to the sky being light for such a short period of time, but that is a different topic that we may cover in the future.
Finally the one thing you all want to know is about Santa. Let me tell you a lil filipino Santa fact. It is quite simple, he doesn't really exist. Now that was harsh I understand however families in the Philippines are not as fortunate as us in the UK. Due to the Philippines being a developing country they don't really believe in a Santa. I guess you could say the more fortunate do know who Santa is and what he does but for those less fortunate do not necessarily believe in a Santa. They understand the concept of Santa but they are strong believers of you are given what you work hard for. It is your hard work that pays for the gifts. Most filipino kids understand the struggle their parents go through to give them food alone, so they grow up being very grateful and not really a believer in a Santa.
Well that is it for now, I hope you learnt a few things about Philippines and the UK. Sorry that this was a hella long blog post but I hope you liked it. If you like talkative blogs like this just let me know.
Anyways see you tomorrow.
#JJs24DaysOfXmas
Have a lovely day.
~JJ~
