Philippine Society and Culture

Mabolo Parish Church In the Philippines the month of May is one of the merriest and festive months because of the big celebrations. Big events such as daily feasts (fiestas) that are really worth celebrating.  Besides, during this month, there are other religious celebrations of utmost importance to the Filipinos such as  the Flores de Mayo, the Santacruzan,  the Labor Day, and of course  the Mothers' Day which is celebrated on the second Sunday of the month.  Mabolo Parish Church But where did these events originate and how significant are these events to the Filipinos? In this blog post, we will trace the origin of these events and their significance to the Filipinos.  It can't be denied that among the colonizers, the Spaniards were the ones who made significant impact on the lives of the Filipinos.  The Filipinos have a lot of religious events of Spanish origin and one of them is the Flores de Mayo, a month -long celebration which starts on t...

Dr. Jose Rizal  Today, is the country's 81st commemoration of the " Araw ng Kagitingan" also known as " Day of Valor" On April 9, 1942, holed up in their fortress amidst fierce resistance, thousands of American and Filipino soldiers and civilians surrendered to the numerically superior Japanese soldiers. This historic war event in the country, popularly known as the "Fall of Bataan" is celebrated every 9th of April. To instill value and significance of this historical event among Filipinos, the celebration is declared a national holiday. Center of defense  Bataan was the center of defense in the war against the Japanese soldiers as the place is the transit point of the invaders' logistical supply.  To keep their logistical transit unhampered, the Japanese had to defeat and secure Bataan from the Filipinos who were just office workers, farmers, and students against battle -hardened foreign invaders.   Death March  From the day of the surrender began...

St. Joseph Parish Church It's already been over a hundred years had passed since the liberation of the Filipinos from the rule of foreign invaders, yet the latter's influence still evident in the daily life of the Filipinos today.    In this special post, we will find out what are the influences of the colonizers that are still observed and practiced by the Filipinos today and how do young generation of Filipino Catholics view these religious influences brought and introduced to the Filipinos by the Spaniards.   Palm Sunday Palm Sunday or Passion Sunday is a Holy Week religious activity where Catholic parishioners and faithful will go to the church to hear mass, bringing with them Palm fronds. These Palm fronds are then blessed by priests with Holy water. At home, these crucifix-shaped Palm leaves will be placed on doorsteps or any conspicuous areas of the house. According to Catholic beliefs these Palm fronds are believed to drive away bad spirits. These Crucifixes ...

  SM City Cebu "We for Gender Equality and Inclusive Society" is this year's theme for International Women's Month which truly reflects women's roles and responsibilities in today's society.  Women's tasks used to be limited to maternal roles and responsibilities. But times have changed and so have their roles and responsibilities in 21st Century society.  If women's roles then were just limited to taking care and raising children and doing household chores, in today's society, their responsibilities and obligations are beyond these maternal tasks. SM City Cebu Women have become catalysts for economic progress. They hold varying positions in both local and international companies. Data show that women's percentage in the workforce is almost equal to that of men.  In the Philippines, women have been part of the country's workforce. They have made significant contributions to the Philippine economy. Millions of Filipino women are working in b...

  Parian Monument  Of the 12 months, February may have the least number of days but to Filipinos, the month of February is one of a few months with many events of national importance.  February, aside from being the love month, it's also a month to commemorate because of other events happening in the country of national importance such as the commemoration of People Power Revolutions I, a revolution widely known as the Philippine revolution without a single shot fired from the two opposing forces.  This 4-day revolution took place along EDSA in Manila Philippines on February 22, 23, 24, and 25, 1986 where millions of rosaries and flower-waving Filipinos converged on EDSA and prevented what could be a potentially bloody revolution. Unlike revolutions in other countries where violence and bloodshed are inevitable, the Philippines' f irst People Power Revolution I was marked by peace and unity for which the country has gained prominence and admiration around the world...

  Undeniably, the advent of modern technology has shaped our social life. Buying food at a restaurant, banking transactions, paying electric and water bills, shopping for your favorite dress or shoes personally are the things of the past.  In today's digital age, we can now do all these which were not possible several decades ago. But aside from the aforementioned, there is also another aspect of our social life that has been changed by modern technology and this is the manner of courtship among the Filipinos.  In this love month of February, we'll talk about the factors that changed the Filipino courtship from the traditional to modern courtship. Below are some of the traditional courtship practices of the Filipinos. We will also tackle factors that could have contributed to the shift of Filipino courtship from traditional to modern.  Love letter  Sending a love letter to a woman is a popular and effective means of relaying a man's feelings. It's really fascina...

Dr. Jose Rizal  Regardless of gender and race, heroes are supposed to be appreciated and emulated for their deeds that made them heroes. Unfortunately, for no apparent reason, this is not the case .  The Filipino heroes, for example, are not getting the appreciation and recognition they deserve, particularly from the young generation of Filipinos. Even Dr. Jose Rizal, the country's national hero is hardly recognized by the youth to which his hope pins upon them. On Rizal day, when asked what national event they are celebrating, many new generations of Filipino don't even have an idea about the event they are celebrating. Despite possessing exemplary qualities and values such as his being intelligence, his being a polyglot/linguist, brave person, being a medical doctor, his being a novelist/poet, his patriotism and his qualities that made him the Filipinos' national hero have been slowly forgotten. It sadden us Filipinos that Dr. Jose Rizal is just one of the country's h...