Filipinos celebrate the longest and merriest Christmas in the world. Some begin putting Christmas decor as early as September. That's one of the tradition , to
display Christmas symbols in and out of the house, schools, churches, along the roads, plazas and in any business establishments. You can see different sizes and colors of lanterns (we call it Parol) with glittering and dancing lights everywhere at night time.
But it begins formally on December 16 by
attending at the first of nine pre-dawn or early morning masses which we called the "Misa De Gallo" or "Simbang Gabi", and continuously until the first Sunday of January,
Feast of the Three Kings, the official end of the season.
Majority of Filipino people are Roman Catholic.Therefore, Christmas time is an extremely important holiday for most of us. It is a time for family, for sharing, for giving, and a time for food, fun, and friendship. Specially for the children, they really wait for this season.
In the Philippines, one of the traditions most families celebrate is the Christmas Eve . It is a night without sleep and a continuous celebration (parties) moving right into Christmas Day. After attending the last mass of Simbang Gabi on the midnight or dawn of Dec. 24th, the preparation begins for
Noche Buena (a midnight special meal), which is a family feast. Lots of special foods prepared on the long table shared by the whole family and friends.
Until the following day, Christmas day-25th, food is in abundance. Guests or visitors take of the food prepared by the host family even though they are already full because they eat in every house they visited.
Christmas day is for children to visit their uncles, aunts, grandparents and godparents. At each home they are given or presented with a gift, , money, small toy, or candy and chocolates.
During night time before Christmas the
practice of caroling of children or even an adults from house to house or door to door is still one customs of all. If it's a children I just give them some coins but if it's an adult, they give an envelope before the day they come so I put a paper bill on it. Every night there are a Xmas carolers 3 or 4, sometimes 5 groups in my gate. Sometimes it ends until January.
--------*****--------
Puto Bumbong and Bibingka are two native delicacies (a Filipino rice cakes) and holiday treats that are bound to the Misa de Aguinaldo, the dawn mass on the nine days before Christmas. They are more common as street food around the churches. Misa de Gallo or Simbang Gabi isn’t the same without seeing those vendors in the streets selling Puto Bungbong and Bibingka.
PUTO BUNGBONG
Puto Bungbong is made from sweet sticky rice with purple yum which is steamed in small chimney like steamers (
lansungan) . Served in banana leaves topped with butter, grated fresh coconut and brown moscovado sugar and usually served with
salabat, or ginger brew.
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup glutinous rice
2 tsp purple food color (
ube)
2 cups water
panutsa (sugar cane sweet) or mascuvado (raw sugar)
PUTO BUNGBONG PROCEDURES:
1. Soak glutinous rice in water overnight.
2. Grind the soaked rice.
3. Mix food color while the glutinous rice is being ground.
4. Wrap the ground glutinous rice on a piece of muslin cloth and place it in a strainer to drain excess liquid. Another technique in draining excess liquid is by pressing a heavy object that has been placed over the muslin cloth.
5. Once the ground rice has slightly dried, rub it against the screen of a strainer to produce coarse grained rice flour.
6. The rice flour for making puto bumbong is now ready to cook. Fill each bamboo tube (
bumbong) with just enough glutinous rice and put them into the steamer. See to it that the steamer contains boiling water.
7. Steam rice flour in the bamboo tubes for 10 minutes.
8. Once cooked, shake out the contents of each bamboo tube or remove the cooked glutinous rice from the bumbong with the help of a knife.
9. Spread butter on the puto bumbong and place a small piece of panutsa (sugar cane sweets).
10. Add a small amount of grated coconut before serving.
BIBINGKA
A traditional filipino rice flour cake with soft , fluffy and slightly sticky texture.
2 cups of Glutinous rice, ground and left to soak for at least two hours (or overnight) in
3/4 cup water
2 cups of coconut milk
½ cup butter
6 eggs
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp sugar
4 oz. cheddar cheese, cut into strips
Sliced salted eggs for the toppings
Pound the
galapong or the glutinous rice that has been left to soak in water until the mixture is fine. Put in a bowl and mix in coconut milk, and about ¾ of the butter. Whisk in the six eggs and the baking powder. Mix until you have a thick batter. Let rest for about an hour.
Prepare the bibingka oven. It’s a special clay oven that composed of two layers where you can put coals on each layer sandwiching the batter.
Line the bottom of the clay oven with a round-cut banana leaf and place some of the batter there for cooking. Before it cooks completely, brush some butter, add some sugar, add a slice of salted egg and cheese on top.Take it out when it’s cooked. Some top it with fresh grated coconut and serve.
My Mycah
My Denmark, I just woke him up to take a meal.
My sister with her huge hubby and four kids.
My 7th brother with his wife and kids too.
My 2nd sister with kids, traveled 7 hours just to see us but
I have a large family, 8 brothers and 3 sisters , we're 12 in all and only my youngest brother that is not married yet.
See also my photo in my profile, it was taken last Christmas.
I made this angels last 2002, still they're ok.
Usually before, the father of my children put 10,000 yen every socks for my 3 children,but since their father no longer coming home,
I made that curtain too (a fan like valance) and actually I can't find
Few gifts, still not done shopping yet.
My Nativities
See who's on the frame.
In the kitchen
My Xmas China wares and mugs are out again.
Outside (In the terrace)
