Today’s Guest post is from Alan Cline. Andy is a resident of Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines, and you can find his personal blog by clicking here. Thank you for submitting the article, Alan, and I look forward to hearing more from you in the future!
The holidays had me thinking about some of the traditions Filipinos celebrate and whether they really are traditions or just habits ? I was thinking about this primarily due to all the fireworks blasting away this past week and still on going .
Logic would suggest that somewhere along the line it came from the Chinese influence in the Philippines but I don’t know that to be factual . If you ask a Filipino why they do something they tend to reply “ it’s Filipino tradition “ or something to that effect.
But is it really a tradition or just a habit that is done because so many others do it? Doesn’t really matter of course in the grand scheme of things but I do find such traditions or habits an interesting part of the Philippine culture.
Traditions tend to be beliefs handed down through posterity while habits are , well , just habits.
Americans generally cook turkeys at Thanksgiving but there is a historical reference point from which that tradition grew . That being of course that the first European settlers in the New World shared food with the local native American Indians . And perhaps ditto the American tradition of exchanging gifts on Christmas Eve also came from the European tradition.
In the case of a habit such as smoking when does it become a tradition , if ever and not just a habit ? Growing up in a tobacco producing state in the US and being at an impressionable age during the 50’s I could say it was traditional to smoke and besides the Marlboro Man was plastered all over the country on giant billboards extolling the virtues of being “ manly & rugged “ . But in reality , it’s just a habit and a bad one at that . ( I am trying to quit )
So , what about Filipino “ traditions “ that others on the site have witnessed ? I am sure there are many and would enjoy hearing about some of them so feel free to opine.
Alan
My guess would be that firing your gun in the air to celebrate the New Year is Tradition but when 14 people get hurt from stray bullets you have a habit. 😉
Small correction in regards to the article published above since i am he . Bob apparently made a small typo regarding my name . It is ALAN , not ANDY . But we all know Bob won't make any more typos in 2009 so it's a – ok . 🙂
I have enjoyed roaming around this site and reading the different viewpoints offered . My wife and i hope to visit Davao City later this month and for sure we are hoping to meet up with some of you that live in that area .
If i understand correctly there is a weekly get together on Wend. at one of the local hotels ? Also would be nice to know if there are any other expat hang outs within the city on a casual basis .
My wife ( Daisy ) and i both look forward to participating in the sites experience .
Hah! Fireworks! Good question, if that is a habit or tradition. I noticed the locals here in Goa, India were very crazy about fireworks as well. Started days before New Year and there are still some leftovers now and then. It was a bombastic fireworks at midnight on 31/12/2008, but actually here are no Chinese roots at all. In Bali were I lived before there was usually only a few rockets left or right and in Singapore (Chinese majority) it was even prohibited until a few years ago. If there exist any traditions they are surely changing over the times. 😉
keep in mind alan the marlboro man died of cancer . we dont want to carry on that tradition
Most Filipinos believe that that fire works and fire guns is a way of shoving away all the "evils" of the passing year and welcoming the new year with all the gaiety of sounds! or shall I say noise? LOL!
Anyway, Alan does not know it because he was sleeping soundly then, but last new year me and our grown up kids are very busy outside our house joining the neighborhood with our share of fireworks! This is my first to really initiate the move. Why? Before the year ends, we have our "series of hospitalization, one for appendectomy operation and 2 dengue cases! So maybe all the bad spirits have flown to our house last year because we don't have even a single BANG!!!!!!! last year.. I really don't believe this for I know God is in control in our lives and in our household. However I will loss nothing anyway if I just join with our tradition and the belief! of my fellow Filipinos. For 20 minutes from 11:55 to 12:15 I enjoyed it so much!
It's just a question of semantics. If one Filipino claims that he makes sure not to spend anything on the 1st day of the new year bec it's his tradition, then who are we to second guess it as maybe just a habit? Obviously, each families has his own traditions. Unlike americans who universally celebrate Thanksgiving day w/ a roasted turkey, Filipinos do not have this uniformity of menu in their holiday food. Filipinos form their traditions or "habits" ( to some) from those handed to them by their parents, and to some extent from those w/c they thought a good thing to practice. Tradition making or "habit" forming is not as structured as if it was legislated by the state or taught from school.
The lyrics of this filipino Christmas song would tell you this & it goes:
Kay sigla ng gabi at lahat at kay saya; ( How exciting is the night & everyone seems happy)
Nagluto ang ate ng manok na tinola; ( Big sister cooked chicken tinola ( chicken soup w/ chix parts (of course!)
Sa bahay ng kuya ay may litsunan pa! ( In big brother's house, they are roasting pig there (presumably)
Ang bawat tahanan may handang iba't-iba! ( In every homes, they have prepared diffrent kind of dishes)
Hi, Alan! All the best for 2009…
I don't know if you've been to Spain, but believe me, they do have some very irritating traditions. Take for example in one town up north where they throw
a goat or sheep from atop a churchbell and people below wait for the animal to fall. Each Christmas season, they have these enormous sounding fireworks just like bombs; they hold fiesta like no other in this world: and what kind of noise do they include in their so-called tradition? yes, those noisy things that can cripple a person's ears. In Valencia they have this tradition of making gigantic paper mache figures, then at night, they burn them all. Of course you have heard of the tomato-throwing thing in the Basque region where they have truckloads of tomatoes and they bathe in them. I can tell you a thousand and one traditions and many of these so-called traditions do not make any sense to me. No country can beat Spain but Spain itself. What about fox-hunting in the UK? Or bull-fighting in Spain? Would you say they are great traditions? Or the silly cheese-chasing downhill in the UK? Are they charming tradtions in your opinion, or should they get rid of them? Regards, Hill
Community activities are good for the people , just plane old fun doesn't have to make sense does it ..???? Phil n Jess
Thanks for the comments/input . In reality i really don't have a problem with most Philippine traditions except for maybe the bombs bursting in air at 3am 🙂
Tradition or habit perhaps is nothing but a matter of semantics as mentioned by a previous poster . I simply used those terms as a topic starter and not meant to be judgemental . 🙂
But i am still getting used to cutting the grass with hedge clippers and using a spoon as a knife . 🙂
Hi Alan- What I really cannot abide is the CD music emanating from the local RC church at 4am in the morning two weeks before Christmas till one week after New Year. Now thats a custom I could do without as by the end of the festive season I was singing along to the music in my sleep according to my Asawa.
Regards.
Jim.